Download Freakonomics: A New Perspective on Everyday Phenomena - Prof. M. Richardson and more Papers Grammar and Composition in PDF only on Docsity! English 104 10 October 2008 Critical Response Journal # 2 Freakonomics is about taking a look a something from a different angle to show that what something may appear to be, is in fact entirely opposite. This philosophy is not just the moral of the book; it is something that is necessary in everyday life. Now, there are a few ways to get this point across to the readers. That is the author’s goal and in achieving so Levitt takes the best route by far in using his bizarre claims such as saying, “The Ku Klux Klan is like a bunch of real-estate agents.”(49) With a chapter title such as that the reader cannot help but wonder how that is possible. Thus, they read further where one could find loads of interesting facts and stories that back up the claim. Before this class I had heard of this book and how interesting it was so it is well know. Many economic and English professors use it as a tool to help guild their students. In the English classroom the book’s professional rhetoric is studied where as an economic professor is looking directly at the facts and how it correlates to the economy or big picture. In both cases, the angle that the book is looking from is both out of the ordinary and genius. Genius in the fact that no one has ever thought that abortion laws are in direct correlation with the crime rate in America or cheating school teachers closely relates to sumo wrestlers. Those are only two of the many examples in Freakonomics that prove its purpose of there being hidden side to everything. After all, that is the title of the opening chapter of the book and is also written on the front cover. With more people out there thinking outside of the box, one could only imagine what claims are to come that may better our understanding to a problem or situation. I think both economic 2 and English professors, as well as anyone who recommends this book to another knows the books purpose and believes in it. Personally, I think this book is one that should be required for every high school student to read before they are aloud to graduate. The books purpose in enlightening new views on old topics to gain knowledge that has never been discovered relates directly to what I think being a well-rounded person is. The first thing that appealed to me about this book was the cover. The apple with a slice missing shows that it is in fact an orange. There is a hidden side of everything is what the cover’s text claims, joined with the appealing photo the book has already got me thinking before it is cracked. The second thing that I think this book does right is how it names its chapters. Again, titles like “What do school teachers and sumo wrestlers have in common?”(15) and “Why do drug deals still live at home with their mom?”(79) get you thinking about the answer to the questions before even read. Making the reader think about the text before reading makes the read what to go further, and when they have you hooked all the details to back up the claims are publicized. Now, what do sumo wrestlers and teachers have in common? The two have absolutely nothing in common; so you thought. In reading I found that the question was answered and there is a hidden side to everything. Learning to look at things differently brings you to conclusions that are also different. Sometimes so different that no one has ever thought of it before. Maybe someday some bright soul can look at cancer a little different and come up with a solution that no one ever though of before. It is an extreme example, but it is all the same concept and that’s how this book brings more to the table then others I have read. This is why it is being taught in schools to the brightest young minds there are. So maybe one day they
