Think Like a Freak

The Authors of Freakonomics Offer to Retrain Your Brain

By: Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner

Narrated by: Stephen J. Dubner

Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

The New York Times best-selling Freakonomics changed the way we see the world, exposing the hidden side of just about everything.

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 offer a blueprint for an entirely new way to solve problems. The topics range from business to philanthropy to sports to politics, all with the goal of retraining your brain. Along the way, you’ll 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 they’re from Nigeria.

Levitt and Dubner plainly see the world like no one else. Now you can, too. Never before have such iconoclastic thinkers been so revealing - and so much fun to read.

Steven D. Levitt, a professor of economics at the University of Chicago, was awarded the John Bates Clark medal, given to the most influential American economist under the age of 40.

Stephen J. Dubner, an award-winning journalist and radio and TV personality, has worked for The New York Times and published three non-Freakonomics books.

©2014 Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner (P)2014 HarperCollins Publishers

Great listen

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book. It gave me a good way to change the way that I see things would definitely recommend it to a friend and listen to it again.

Never Disappointed

This is the first time I've listened to these authors vs reading and I was not disappointed. Dubner has the perfect voice and keeps the hidden side of everything as interesting and thought provoking as ever. Maybe I'm just easily pleased but if this isn't a book that gets you thinking, at all, let alone like a freak, I would be curious why and what data you have to back it up.

Worth the time

Great anecdotes. Easy to listen to and to understand. Could be more unified with central theme. Would recommend for any data drive decision maker.

Everything I loved about Super Freakonomics!

Having listened to all three Freakonomics books now, there is a clear progression. This helps me view my world in a much more logical and purposeful way, and excites me about what I can learn from my life just by stopping, observing, and thinking LIKE A FREAK!

Good but redundant if you follow the pod casts

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

If you don't listen to Freakonomics podcast, this is a great book. Lot's of information. If you like me is a devout follower, this will give you very little extra. Perhaps as a bit of a refresher, but that's it.

What three words best describe Stephen J. Dubner’s performance?

Great reader.

Rather good read

it was a rather good read. A lot better than I'd expected. If you're the self-development type - don't expect any big lessons. The entire book or freakonomics ideology is based on comparisons and contrasts; so the authors try to show you a different perspective in everyday things. it broadens your perspective so it's definitely worth a listen.

Listened this book 3 times and will do it again.

Listened this book 3 times and will listen again. very good book written and narrated by a smart people. Thanks for trying to teach me to think like a freak.

I prefer the audiobook over the physical book.

It's great for listening while doing other things.

This is the third book in the Freakonomics series. You don’t need to read them in order. I’ve enjoyed all three. They talk about a variety of subjects.

One subject was intriguing and not answered. A multinational retail company bought tv ads 3 times a year. They had their highest sales at those three times. The authors asked the question did the ads cause the sales? Or did the sales cause the ads? The company took out ads on the three biggest sale days: Black Friday, Christmas, and Father’s Day. The same company paid for advertising inserts in newspapers year round. The authors suggested the company run an experiment to see if those ads paid off - by doing no ads in selected areas for a few months and then comparing sales data. The marketing guys refused to experiment. They said they’d get fired if they stopped advertising. But they admitted that one summer an intern forgot to place the ads in the Pittsburgh area and there was no decrease in sales during that time. And still, the marketing guys refused to experiment. I’m having trouble with that. I don’t think I’d want to invest money in that company.

The authors looked at religious communities in Germany - or somewhere near there. They found Protestants made more money than Catholics - even though they all started with the same wages per hour. The reasons were: Protestants worked more hours per week, Protestants were more likely to be self employed, and more Protestant women worked than Catholic women.

Want to keep restrooms cleaner? Paint a fly in the urinal – male desire to target practice.

At the end of the audiobook, there are several episodes from Freakonomics Radio. They are available as podcasts from iTunes and the Freakonomics web site. They were good.

AUDIOBOOK NARRATOR:
Co-author Stephen Dubner was excellent as a narrator. Good production equipment - I didn’t hear his breaths - yay.

Genre: nonfiction, economics.

interesting

What did you love best about Think Like a Freak?

I enjoyed the concepts discussed

What could Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

I would have liked more of the same.

If you could give Think Like a Freak a new subtitle, what would it be?

open your mind

Good listen

I did not listen to the podcast, so this was the first time that I was hearing this content. If you liked Freakonomics, then there is a good chance that you'll like this audiobook as well.