Disinfect Your Mind

Freakonomics : A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner - William Morrow, 2005, ISBN 006073132, Hardcover, 256p. Beautiful, absolutely beautiful volume. Of course, it’s far from “everything”. There are just few questions explored like why our schools fail, why real estate agents are not really interested in getting a higher price for your home, or what helps children succeed in school and what does not. What matters is that in all these questions the matter is carefully turned upside down with the real facts and confirmed data. For reference, you don’t have to agree with the data, you may consider what the book tells and stay on your existing point of view. However, a little shattering of the common beliefs is helpful for the mind disinfection. The key premise of this book is that experts in any field tend to create a closed group guarding their guild interests at your expense – right, big surprise, and that they don’t hesitate to feed you some false statements if it works in their interests. All in good faith, of course, most of them really believe in what they say, but still they do. In our society we rely on experts a lot, so this book is really useful to an average American. It’s not only a ready-to-use disinfectant against some specific mind viruses, it’s also like an extra training to be not swayed by experts. By the way, they have to use mind viruses to get the sale and make you spread the word – remember, most of this folk builds their business on referrals. Of course, usually “experts”, let it be a high-paid corporate consultant or a mortgage company customer service representative, tend to talk to you like you are an idiot and they are the wizards who make the Earth spin, and turning the table does not usually yield a good response from them. But if the matter matters, you may prefer to live with this little disappointment for the sake of a better result. Of course, I’d like you to go to Amazon and buy this book their (bringing me an associate commission J). Incidentally they have 40% sale on this book. Or you may walk into your local Barnes&Noble who have right now a 30% off sale on this book.