TOW #24 - Freakonomics (IRB 3.2)

I finally finished reading my third IRB, Freakonomics, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, and I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. I felt that I was able to make connections between some of what the authors were saying and my statistics class, which made the book that much more fun to read. As I mentioned in my first post on this book, the authors bring a unique perspective to economics in the way that they analyze actual events versus expected events. Each chapter almost serves as its own individual text – and in each chapter, the authors use the classical model of oration.

In every chapter, I found there to be examples of exordium, narratio, confirmatio, refutatio, and peroratio. To account for exordium, the authors introduced the sections with anecdotes which at first didn’t seem related to the rest of the chapter, but ended up making sense. For narratio, they ask questions that relate to the section, but also relate to the reader’s life. These questions offer real world applications to the studies of economics that the authors do, ultimately making the text more relatable to the reader. For confirmatio, the authors provide statistics and other concrete evidence supporting their point. For refutatio, they take a misconception on the subject at hand and show, through statistics, why it’s false. Lastly, for peroratio, the authors conclude the section and prepare the reader for the next one. I found this structure particularly helpful as it clearly outlined the author’s points for each chapter. There was a clear direction in where they were going. I didn’t ever feel caught by surprise – similar to how in The Qualities of the Prince, Machiavelli has a heading, claim, evidence, and analysis. Without this particular structure, portions of the chapter would have been a bit confusing – specifically the introductions to the chapters. Since they didn’t seem related, it was necessary for them to be followed by further explanation and connections.

I am very pleased that I had the opportunity to read Freakonomics. After hearing so much about it and telling myself I would read it, I finally actually did. I would recommend this book to anyone struggling to find an IRB for the fourth marking period. Part of what is great about this book is that you don’t need to be math-oriented in order to understand it. The authors do a great job in making their writing understandable to everyone.