Think Like a Freak

The New York Times bestselling Freakonomics changed the way we see the world, exposing the hidden side of just about everything. Then came SuperFreakonomics, a documentary film, an award-winning podcast, and more.Now, with Think Like a Freak, Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner have written 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 rationallyto 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, youll 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 theyre from Nigeria.Some of the steps toward thinking like a Freak: First, put away your moral compassbecause its hard to see a problem clearly if youve already decided what to do about it. Learn to say I dont knowfor until you can admit what you dont yet know, its virtually impossible to learn what you need to. Think like a childbecause youll come up with better ideas and ask better questions. Take a master class in incentivesbecause for better or worse, incentives rule our world. Learn to persuade people who dont want to be persuadedbecause being right is rarely enough to carry the day. Learn to appreciate the upside of quittingbecause you cant solve tomorrows problem if you arent willing to abandon todays dud.Levitt and Dubner plainly see the world like no one else. Now you can too. Never before have such iconoclastic thinkers been so revealingand so much fun to read.