Who, What, Why?

What exactly is this blog about?

As an assignment for the Learning Skills course at university, I am reading "Freakonomics", by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dunbar. I will be reviewing the book, chapter by chapter as I go along, using this blog.

What exactly is "Freakonomics?" Co-authored by Steven Levitt, an economist of the highest order (he has degrees and awards to prove it!), and Stephen Dunbar, a witty and engaging journalist and author, it is a book that gives us a glimpse into Steven Levitt's unconventional economic investigations.

Levitt and Dunbar
Photos from http://freakonomics.com/about/

Many non-economists, myself included, tend to believe that economics is a dry, highly technical subject. I had written it off as a subject purely about numbers, markets and money. But this book promises an interesting twist on the subject, by using it to examine fascinating real world situations. For example, why is it that drug dealers, many well into their adult lives, still live with their moms? Or, what is it that makes a perfect parent? As Levitt says, "economics is a science with excellent tools for gaining answers but a serious shortage of interesting questions." And he has a knack of asking such questions.

This is why I chose to read this book. I am drawn by the seemingly arbitrary questions Levitt asks, and the deft way in which he deconstructs real life examples to answer them. And I hope, that at the end of this, I will be a little more intrigued by the subject of economy as a whole, and the ways in which it can be used to look at the world.