Think Like a Freak - by Steven D Levitt & Stephen J Dubner (Paperback)

About the Book

Levitt and Dubner take us inside their thought process and teach us all to think a bit more productively, more creatively, more rationally-- to think, that is, like a Freak. Whether your interest lies in minor lifehacks or major global reforms, you'll learn to put away your moral compass, think like a child, and discover how incentives rule our world.

Book Synopsis

In this major national bestseller and follow-up to Superfreakonomics, the Freakonomics authors are back to take us behind the phenomenon and unveil the tools for thinking like a freak.

With their trademark blend of captivating storytelling and unconventional analysis, Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner take us inside their thought process and teach us all how to think a bit more productively, more creatively, more rationally. In Think Like A Freak, they offer a blueprint for an entirely new way to solve problems, whether your interest lies in minor lifehacks or major global reforms. The topics range from business to philanthropy to sports to politics, all with the goal of retraining your brain. Along the way, you'll learn the secrets of a Japanese hot-dog-eating champion, the reason an Australian doctor swallowed a batch of dangerous bacteria, and why Nigerian e-mail scammers make a point of saying they're from Nigeria.

Levitt and Dubner plainly see the world like no one else. Now you can too. Never before have such iconoclastic thinkers been so revealing--and so much fun to read.

This paperback edition includes a new Q&A with the authors.

From the Back Cover

Put away your moral compass. Learn to say "I don't know." Think like a child.
Take a master class in incentives. Appreciate the upside of quitting. . . . And more!

Think Like a Freak is Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner's most revolutionary book yet. With their trademark blend of captivating storytelling and unconventional analysis, they take us inside their thought process and teach us all to think a bit more productively, more creatively, more rationally--to think, that is, like a Freak.

Levitt and Dubner offer a blueprint for an entirely new way to solve problems, whether your interest lies in minor lifehacks or major global reforms. As always, no topic is off-limits. They range from business to philanthropy to sports to politics, all with the goal of retraining your brain. Along the way, you'll learn the secrets of a Japanese hot-dog-eating champion, the reason an Australian doctor swallowed a batch of dangerous bacteria, and why Nigerian e-mail scammers make a point of saying they're from Nigeria.

Never before have such iconoclastic thinkers been so revealing--and so much fun to read.

Review Quotes

Praise for Freakonomics: "[Levitt and Dubner's] clever juxtapositions, the way they consistently mine illuminating truths by contrasting seemingly unrelated topics, is what makes Freakonomics a romp of a read. . . . Freakonomics is a splendid book, full of unlikely but arresting historical details that distinguish the authors from the run of pop social scientists." - New York Times Book Review
"We think we know how the world operates, but we really don't. ... Freakonomics uses the science of economics and concrete data to challenge our assumptions about everything." - Harvard Business Review
Praise for SuperFreakonomics: "Genuinely fascinating." - The Guardian
"Brave, bracing and beautifully contrarian. Don't go to the water cooler without it." - New York Post
"An interesting and thought-provoking read." - The Horn
"Over nine entertaining chapters [Levitt and Dubner] demonstrate how not to fall into hackneyed approaches to solving problems and concretely illustrate how to reframe questions." - New York Daily News
"Utterly captivating." - Malcolm Gladwell, New York Times bestselling author of Blink, The Tipping Point, and David and Goliath
"Compelling and fun." - New York Post
"This book will change your life." - Daily Express (London)
"Their most revolutionary book yet. With their trademark blend of captivating storytelling and unconventional analysis, they take us inside their thought process and teach us all to think a bit more productively, more creatively, more rationally --- to think, that is, like a Freak." - Bookreporter.com
"Good ideas... expressed with panache." - Financial Times