A bunch of people have asked what the illustration that accompanied our latest N.Y. Times column is supposed to mean. Honestly, I have no idea. If you want to see a considerably less abstruse illustration concerning Freakonomics, take a look at this. It was done by a Portuguese artist, Goncalo Viana, to illustrate our Times column as it is carried in a newspaper in Portugal. Here is Viana’s online portfolio, which includes some of his “Freakonomics” illustrations. As for the caricature of Levitt and me: First of all, Levitt and I have never worn matching shirts. Further, I think Levitt makes out quite a bit better than me; while I refuse to find anti-Semitic undertones in the devil horn that crept into my hairline, I do admit slight displeasure that my nose has been made to look like a human tush.
Search This Blog
- Previous Post:Our Brazilian Competition
- Next Post:Oh, Alma Mater!
FREAK Shots:
About Freakonomics
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.
Comment of the Moment
Naked Self-Promotion
Freakonomics is bolstering book sales at airports because it’s sexy, reports TheBookseller.com -- with or without its Turkish cover.
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
Archive
Recent Posts
November 18
(18 comments)
Would a Market for Organs Punish the Poor More Than They Are Already Punished?
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
(22 comments)
Larry Summers for Treasury Secretary
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
(8 comments)
Boston Legal Way Classier Than Beauty and the Geek?
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)
Is France Due for Riots?
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
(116 comments)
A Beet Paradox
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 [...]
Stuff We Weren't Paid to Endorse
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)
From the Opinion Blogs
Necessary Steps
Inching Along the Edge of the World
In his last walk of the series, the author manages to avoid stepping out into thin air.
Abstract City
New York Cheat Sheets
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.
Feeds
5 Comments
Being portuguese I had to google the word tush to find out what that was… Oh my Oh my..! hehe
I guess it does look like one, in a Freakanatomy kind of way, back to the drawing board!!
— GoncaloI’m surprised the logo is a mystery to anyone…seems to me its trying to make apples compares to organges or make apples out of oranges or see that in fact, apples can be oranges or related to oranges…no? the book compares variables that seemingly have nothing to do with one another (abortion:decrease in crime) from the outside but underneath (under its skin) these two variables could in fact be two of a kind…what do we think?
— skytroubieuuhhh….sorry…i misread the post and so of course my response doesnt make any sense…much like the logo for the article…but give me a minute i’m sure i could come up with something :)
— skytroubieI think it’s supposed to be the outline of his left arm covering his eyes, as in his he’s making a choice between holding his putative love interest or ignoring her. (Which would make more sense if it was a man he was holding though…)
— urijahFor a start, SJD’s eyes look like “equals” signs, or perhaps vaguely Asian. SDL’s eyes look like the beginnings of dollar signs that went on a little too long, kind of the symbolic equivalent of “banananana”. If he were alive, I wouldn’t think that Al Hirschfeld should be worried about competition.
— StCheryl