The Chinese version of Freakonomics has been released, and here is what it looks like:
I am told that the title of the book is “Devil’s Economics” in Chinese. I kind of like that!
How ironic that on the same day I heard about this choice of titles I spoke for the first time ever in a house of worship. Many thanks to the kind people at Colorado College who treated me so well and overflowed the chapel there (more than 1,400 people came to see me talk I am told!) to hear me give the H. Chase Stone Memorial Lecture. Many illustrious economists and business leaders have preceded me in this lecture series including Robert Rubin and my own colleague Jim Heckman, the only Nobel Laureate to attend Colorado College.
18 Comments
Steven,
funny post.
After reading all the posts and articles flying around about and by realtors the only conclusion based on the N.A.R. would be that you guys are devils!
russ :-)
— betterecmlol,
it seems as if freakonomics will be availible everywhere around the world in a few months
— FlorianGERSince I understand Chinese, it says “Economics for Monsters…”
— blou888I don’t get it…a wolf ina sheep. I thought an orange in an apple couldn’t get any wierder…
— blou888Why so many different covers? Is there research saying different covers work better in different countries, or is it just fun with photoshop?
— smiliSince i am Chinese, it says ” Amazing and interesting economice…”
BTW, I bought one in Shenzhen of China upon its release in March. Now the book is quite popular. I guess every reader is expecting the launch of the movie to this book.
— SiwiIf this is Devil’s Economics, what is God’s?
— MPGibsonA lot of economics is used to explain how people deal with scarce resources. For some reason I don’t think God has this problem.
— BlandyWell is not that devil’s…
— quiquebsI am reading your book, and I have recovered the willing to learn in my degree… I study economics, and for an unknown reason I am only taught about things that has nothing to do with what I see. I should do a regresion to discover the incentives of a university professor to make his pupils learn.
Thanks again!
The Chinese don’t have a word that quite fits “freak,” therefore, they chose a word that could be taken to mean “monster,” “demon,” or “devil.” How interesting that you chose to go with the absolute worst connotation to imply that the Chinese have some kind of mistrust for either the contents of your book (rightly so) or economics itself.
— anniew06I don’t think that’s true, annie. When I read that title it reminded me of the book by Ambrose Bierce titled ‘The Devil’s Dictionary’. The two books share a common spirit in some ways, both being written with a palpable sense of humor.
But perhaps the latter is a concept you don’t quite grok?
— DonI don’t think that’s true, annie. When I read that title it reminded me of the book by Ambrose Bierce titled ‘The Devil’s Dictionary’. The two books share a common spirit in some ways, both being written with a palpable sense of humor.
But perhaps the latter is a concept you don’t quite grok?
— DonWhy are some posts occurring twice, like the one above?
— BlandyWhy are some posts occurring twice, like the one above, even though when I deliberately try to put in a duplicate comment, I am blocked?
— BlandySounds like this thread is becoming self-referential.
Living in Taiwan and working on optimization problems and multiple criteria decision scenarios has led me to find Freakonomics to be a fasciniating and insightful read. Escpecially given the fact that Levitt claims his abiding interests are cheating, corruption, and crime. This country(or rebel province)is a massive case study in the waiting for examining the economics and incentives of under-handed and otherwise unsoavory behaviour. I am very happy to see it in Chinese.
The fact that the title is translated oddly doesn’t surprise me at all given the translation of some movies and TV shows I have seen. They are designed to suit the audience. Hopefully the text is as faithful a translation as is possible.
— revilorbI am a Hong Kong Chinese and I have to tell you “Freakonomics” has two Chinese version, both of them are available in Hong Kong.
The one you posted is in simplified Chinese character (used in mainland China)and the meaning of the book title is
“Devil Economics”
Another one is in traditional Chinese character(used in Hong Kong and Taiwan) and the title is “The Economics of Apples and Oranges”
You can take a look on the cover.
http://www.cp1897.com.hk/BookInfo?BookId=9789867291936&SectionId=10&AllId=0&Action=1
But I bought the English version.
— MickeyHow much of China’s economic growth rate is due to the shortage of marriageable women, causing young chinese men to work harder to succeed?
— tallguysfIt is interesting that they changed the cover to a fox in a sheep and translated the title using a word with dark connotations. It makes it look like a book about “how devilish markets really are behind those pretty ads”. I guess that would appeal to Chinese audiences.
— sredni vashtar