1. Briefly, how did Levitt arrive at the conclusion that sumo wrestlers were cheating?
A normal individual would probably be freaked out to know that there are commonalities between a teacher and a sumo wrestler. According to Levitt (2005), in one of the chapters of Freakonomics, there is one commonality between these two professions—cheating. Both teachers and sumo wrestlers have the tendency to cheat. The author was able to prove that sumo wrestlers who are about to fight will most likely cheat because of the higher incentives they will get if they cheat.
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How is the Ku Klux Klan like a group of Real Estate Agent?
2. How did the exposure of the Ku Klux Klan’s secrets significantly diminish the Klan’s presence and influence in society?
The reason why most people do not even know they exist is their history. Their presence was established with fear. This group was actually a terrorism group back in the 1800s (Cass, 2006). However, what’s unique about their group is the fact that they do not really commit terrorism acts; they only threaten people. This group had interactions with famous personalities such as Kennedy and later on turned out to be a significant group especially in the late 1950s. Later on, their secrets (the source of their power and influence) were revealed and this led to their diminished presence.
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Why do Drug Dealers still live with their moms?
3. Define the terms conventional wisdom. Use examples from Freakonomics to illustrate your answer.
Conventional Wisdom is a set of explanations that are usually perceived as always true although they are not. Most people resort to believe only the conventional types of wisdom because they think that the simpler a thing is, the easier everything will be to deal with. However, the simplest version of everything may not always be the true or right one. An example in Freakonomics was the product “Listerine”. They marketed the product by making people believe that only people with fresh breath could become successful in their life and career.
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Where has all the Criminals Gone?
4. Explain how competition among crack dealers contributed to the decrease in crime that occurred in the 1990s.
During the 1990s, one of the primary reasons for high crime levels is the level of killing among crack dealers. Crack dealers were very much willing to kill their competitors for the sake of having a greater market share on selling drugs to customers. Later on, the prices of crack fell and their profits decreased. They then realized that it was not worth it to kill their competitors and go to jail in exchange for a small amount of cash they could get from selling cracks. This was only one of the primary reasons why crime rates decreased back then.
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What makes a perfect parent?
5. Briefly explain the meaning of Sandman’s equation: Risk = hazard + outrage. What does it say about the relationship between the perceived risk and the actual risk of many events?
Sandman’s equation about risk considers elements such as danger and of course, outrage which usually corresponds to the level of manipulation. Oftentimes, people become more afraid than outraged. An example would be when a person feels shocked or too emotional. At times of shock, an individual may feel more afraid than outraged, no matter what the context of the scenario is, as long as it presents a sad or shocking situation. Perceived and actual risks are greatly affected by control. It is said that whenever an individual has greater control over something, the more likely he is to miscalculate things.
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Perfect parenting, Part II; or would a Roshanda by any other name smell as sweet?
6. What are parents signaling when they choose a name for their child?
It is safe to assume that we are living in an era of competitive, strict and often times unreasonable parenthood. Levitt stated that formulating names of newborns and children aren’t usually that difficult. There was an example in the book where boy was named Winner and another boy was named Loser. It was ironic that in the end, the boy named Loser was the one who ended up successful. The boy named Winner on the other hand succeeded in keeping a lot of criminal records. These 2 boys were actually siblings.
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Highlighted Aspects of Freakonomics
I certainly enjoyed reading this book. Apart from being a radical type of book that contained a lot of radical ideas, I sure have learned a lot of things from it as well. I learned that there is indeed a correlation between my professors and the Sumo wrestlers that I often see in TV shows—both of them could cheat and they usually do. I must say that I was really entertained and at the same time, learned a lot of things from Freakonomics. The authors did a good job. They presented everything about economics with flavor. So for me, the best aspect of this book is its being cocky. Most of the economics books out there are dead serious that most readers get bored simply by reading the first few pages of it. Well that was not the case for Freakonomics. The ideas were presented in a funny way without compromising the knowledge and learning you should get from reading. When it comes to the topic that affected my perceptions, I would say that it was the part about the decrease in U.S’ crime rates in the early 1990’s. I have realized how greatly economics could contribute to things of that extent. Imagine how a good economic standing of a country could be a factor that could lead to a lower crime rate (Andrew, 2012). If everybody else will read Freakonomics, I am sure that they will learn a lot of things from it as well. The book may sound a bit silly and funny but there is not a single part in the book where you could tell that the author is making a joke out of everything and everything that was written on the book was hoax or was just written there for the sake of being published. It’s a great book and it does its purpose—to educate people (Harry, 2009). I too have been educated by this book and I cannot find any reason for me not to recommend this book to others. Ultimately, the most admirable thing for me about this book is its practicality. No single books that I have read about economics have presented their ideas in such a practical way.
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7. List 10 Words or Expressions that you learned from the book and write their definitions in full sentences following the context used in the book.
a. Ubiquitous (introduction, page 2, paragraph 4)
Ubiquitous denotes to something that is everywhere present, or at all times present.
b. Bribe (chapter 1; page 40; 3rd paragraph)
This means to persuade a person to do something in exchange of a certain amount of money.
c. Repository (chapter 1 ;page 36; last paragraph)
This is a place where something is stored or kept safely.
d. Embezzler (chapter 1; page 45; 4th paragraph)
These are the people who steal money or any form of property from a company.
e. Bigotry (chapter 2; page 54; 3rd paragraph)
This is a noun expressing the possession of a strong and usually unreasonable prejudice.
f. Turf Wars (Chapter 3; page 94; 6th paragraph)
This refers to the wars that occur between gangs and other group.
g. Aficionados (Chapter 3; page 107; 6th paragraph)
This refers to a person who likes or knows a lot about something.
h. Recalcitrant (Chapter 4; page 123; 2nd paragraph)
An adjective that describes someone who is not willing to follow orders.
i. Outrage (chapter 5; page 152; 2nd paragraph)
This is an act or an event that is usually a result of intense burst of emotions.
j. Willy-Nilly (chapter 6; page 170; 3rd paragraph)
Something that happens without any planning involved.
Works Cited
Levitt, S. (2009). Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. Harper Collins.
Andrew, G. (2012). What went wrong. American Scientist.
John, S. (2006). A review about Freakonomics. Magill’s Annual Literary.
Cass, J. (2006). Economics in a bigger picture. Texas International University Library.
Jerry, J. (1995). Revolving Doors. Industrial and labor Relations Review.
Harry, K. (2009). Converging Divergences. Cornell University Press.
