It still looks the same as the old one, but now you can download just about all of my papers if you click on the “Curriculum Vitae and Downloadable Papers” link.
So, if you want to see how much better the writing is in Freakonomics than in my academic papers, I encourage you to check out my new web page.
Stephen J. Dubner is an author and journalist who lives in New York City.
Steven D. Levitt is a professor of economics at the University of Chicago.
Their book Freakonomics has sold 3 million copies worldwide. This blog, begun in 2005, is meant to keep the conversation going. Recurring guest bloggers include Ian Ayres, Jessica Hagy, Daniel Hamermesh, Sudhir Venkatesh, and Justin Wolfers.
Annika Mengisen is the site editor.
Freakonomics is bolstering book sales at airports because it’s sexy, reports TheBookseller.com -- with or without its Turkish cover.
November 18
(10 comments)
Below is a fascinating statement issued by Physicians for a National Health Program, “a membership organization of over 15,000 physicians [which] supports a single-payer national health insurance program.”
You should read the whole thing but, in a nutshell: The people who receive donated organs in the U.S. nearly always have health insurance, while a significant fraction [...]
November 18
(17 comments)
Larry Summers
There is a lot of speculation about whether President-elect Barack Obama will choose Larry Summers to be his Treasury Secretary. But some people are openly opposing Summers’s appointment, in part because of controversial comments he made about women in science.
It’s a close question, but I’m hoping that Obama appoints Summers. I have three reasons:
First, [...]
November 18
(6 comments)
Thanks to all the readers who wrote in last week with news that Freakonomics was mentioned on the TV show Boston Legal.
It happened at the end, when the William Shatner character and the James Spader character were having their ritual end-of-the-episode scotch, musing about law and the world.
Alan Shore (Spader): Well, it’s possible [...]
November 18
(20 comments)
Photo: cicilief
In my last post, I offered several reasons why the urban riot has gone out of style in the U.S.
However, France will not be spared the sword. I predict that the world will watch French cities light up in youth unrest in 2009, 2010 at the latest … 2011 for sure.
I have been [...]
November 18
(85 comments)
Photo: Darwin Bell
Beets are the new broccoli. Or at least they will be after Obama takes office on January 20, as the president-elect recently revealed his distaste for this vitamin-laden root vegetable. And Obama is not alone: Even as beet salads have become popular in trendy eateries, most American kids I know also reject the [...]
1. Go to Hulu.com. 2. Choose Arrested Development. 3. Start with Season 1 and then watch every episode of all three seasons. 4. You can thank me later. (SJD)
I can scarcely tell a scarlet tanager from Scarlett O’Hara, but The Life of the Skies had me transfixed from the first page. Jonathan Rosen -- who happens to be a friend of mine -- writes with astounding insight, wit, and compassion. The story he tells here is the best kind of odyssey, an outward journey that ends up highlighting the beauty and daring that live inside of us. Here's a Times review of the book, and here's an earlier blog post about the book and the power of suggestion. (SJD)
Even if you don’t have a son fighting in Iraq, even if you don’t read poetry, even if you think you are immune to the power of a mother’s lament – pick up The Warrior and read it right away. Fran Richey has written some of the most powerful stories I’ve ever encountered. It is obvious that her life was changed by living these poems; yours may well be changed by reading them. (SJD)
In his last walk of the series, the author manages to avoid stepping out into thin air.
All New Yorkers develop tricks that allow them to stay ahead of the pack in daily life. Here I offer some of mine in a couple of handy charts.
14 Comments
Maybe Dubner should write a book with (or at least about) this guy. Definitely an interesting character, has a few crazy ideas, undeniably a rogue.
— Eric GallowayThanks. I’ll definitely be taking a look
— Jamie Brockingtonin case you need more proof that the stevens love to toot each other’s horns.
we know that each steve thinks the other is the most brilliant, exciting person he’s ever met.
Why do you think it is interesting for us to be reminded that each steve thinks the other is the cat’s meow? Do you really not see how narcissistic and homoerotic (not to mention boring) you sound (steve luvs steve!)?
DF
— AnonymousDF -
Can’t you see that I was just trying to tell people I had a new home page while knocking myself down a few pegs?
If you don’t like our tone, why do you visit?
Steve Levitt
— Steven D. LevittLevitt: Can’t you see that I was just trying to tell people I had a new home page while knocking myself down a few pegs?
Frisch: I find your constant, pseudo-self-deprecation to be tiresome and juvenile. Like your shtick about being the dumbest guy in the room when you were with a bunch of fauxbel prize winners.
You note that you are not as smart as a nobel prize winner. You call attention to the fact that you are not as good a writer as a journalist for the New York Times. To you, this is self-deprecating.
But of course, the subtext is that you are a Master John Bates Clark Medal winner, and New York Times Best Seller List author. And saying “I’m not as great as the upper echelon” isn’t self-deprecating in most people’s book. A boxer who says “I am DEFINITELY not as good as Mohammed Ali” is not humble. You do understand that, don’t you Steve?
Your incessant self-deprecation is really a scantily clad form of narcissistic egotistical self-aggrandizement. It’s a PHONY self-deprecation.
Also, I think your research is lame. You relentlessly pursue inanely trivial topics (poker, baseball, sumu wrestling). When you stumble across a real topic (abortion), you pathologically reject the obvious policy implications of it.
Your refusal to acknowledge that your results are pro-liberal shows that you are either a republican or a wimp. I’ve heard from a mutual acquaintance (an mba student at chicago) that you are not a republican so i deduce that you’re a wimp. (Personally, I don’t think your data are ammo for the pro-choice crowd. I don’t think you showed that legalization of abortion CAUSES a decrease in crime, but that’s another story.)
It seems like your goal in life is to titilate adolescent boys and men whose interests are similar to theirs rather than shed light on issues of societal importance.
Levitt: If you don’t like our tone, why do you visit?
Frisch: Good question. I’ll think about it and get back to you.
Deborah Frisch, Ph.D.
— Anonymoushttp://www.debfrisch.com
Does anyone else here think like I do that Frisch is a tired old shrink who can’t shut up but should?
— AnonymousObviously Deborah Frisch don’t see eye-to-eye on some things. But, I give her credit for signing her post. There is so much anonymous flamethrowing that goes on here, it is refreshing to see real names attached.
I also like her answer to my question about why if I’m so lame and inane she keeps coming back. It’s an honest answer. I hope that she will think about it and get back to us, because I am curious.
Her blog that she mentioned was quite interesting and worth a read. (Although I can see why, given the other people she doesn’t like, she wouldn’t like my research either.)
Steve Levitt
— Steven D. LevittLevitt, you are being way too nice to Frisch. She IS the Anonymous flamethrower on this site. She has nothing to say but fourth-grade taunts.
— AnonymousSteve,
Thanks for your thoughtful comments. They make it easy to ignore the pathetic anonymous ankle-biters who lurk on this blog.
You are right - it’s nothing personal. I believe economists pose a greater threat to the security and well-being of the country than al qaeda. Ben Shalom Bernanke, Larry Summers and especially, John Graham scare me more than Osaddama.
Deb
— AnonymousTo Deb:
Ultimately I have to agree that parts of this book focused far too deeply on Dubner’s praise of Levitt. At certain points I remember thinking “stop blowing smoke up this guy’s butt and let me read about his research.” However I feel that there was a purpose to his ranting about Levitt’s work. I have tried on numerous occasions to lure my friends to read economic papers I found interesting, much to no avail. I have successfully suckered several of them to read Freakonomics. If Dubner’s writing and Levitt’s research have somehow maintained an acceptable approach in the mainstream of America, well I have to say I welcome it with open arms ( I should mention to Prof. Levitt that I did read several of your academic papers on various topics and while I found them fascinating , my non -economic friends were bored to tears).
— AnonymousSo Ms. Frisch, I have to say I do not fully understand your participation in this blog. You seem irritated by Levitt and Dubner’s opinions (and just about anyone else’s). Your previous blog Ms. Frisch where you attacked Mr. Dubner’s involvement in this novel may have somewhat provoked this blog. Your redundancy with this “homoerotic” reference makes you seem more boring than Dubner’s rants abput Levitt’s unique intellingence.And your reference to being the one of the only women who hangs with the “freaky boyz” is offensive. Are we giving out medals for gender now?
Sure, NOW you link to easy downloads of your research papers. What about those of us who had to dig through old journals in the referece section to read your mixed-strategy equilibria paper?
Which, by the way, I was pleasantly surprised with. Obviously, the book covers your research on a surface level, without offering technical details and specifics, in other words, not much for the scholarly reader to sink his teeth into. But the Soccer Penalty Kick paper was quite good, good insights, good research. It definitely makes penalty shootouts more interesting to watch for me now. (What are those goalies and shooters calculating?) Strong recommendation for anyone interested by game theory.
As for Ms. Frish, Ph.D.: Separating the “real” topics from the “trivial” is a tough business. I take baseball pretty seriously, as do I take real estate (usually the largest monetary investment one makes), raising children, the KKK, crime & punishment, drugs, elections, etc. (all in the book). And even if penalty kicks in soccer aren’t your bag, the results may have implications in other areas. The most famous ‘game’ is the “prisoner’s dilemma”, is it not? What was this applied to? Nuclear annihiliation, mutual assured destruction. Check out Dr. Strangelove, good doctor. The Doomsday device is a pretty real issue. (see Russia, N. Korea, Iran, etc.)
Jeff
— AnonymousDear Prof. Levitt,
Hello. I went to take a look at your web page.
On your CV at http://pricetheory.uchicago.edu/levitt/LevittCV.html, it says “Download (Comming Soon)” for some of the papers with a link going nowhere. I realize it’s a temporary link, but it’s still a bit goofy that you have a spelling error.
Also, your page title (the one that appears in the blue title bar) says “Steven D,” which is perfectly acceptable, but maybe a little odd. Did you want to change it?
Love your blog, though! Thanks.
— Dou-Yan YangTo the person who throws invectives for no good reason aka troll:
— AnonymousI don’t care how lame you think Levitt’s research is; I think most people agree that people who write Ph.D after their name on some internet blog are even more lame.
There’s even a paper on looking at the academic qualifications of California state university economics professors by whether they put a Ph.D after their name.
Professor moves from insults to threats against children?
Of all the various forms of viciousness I’ve seen in the years I’ve been blogging, this one takes the cake. While I can’t open Jeff’s links right now as his site is down, via Pajamas Media and Ace, I see…
— Classical Values