At the end of Freakonomics, Levitt and Dubner suggest a potential “underlying theme” for the book: “thinking sensibly about how people behave in the real world” (209). As far as this has been the theme of the book, the authors express a hope that their readers will “become more skeptical of the conventional wisdom” they encounter, and maybe even “begin looking for hints as to how things aren’t quite what they seem” (210). To that end, you are assigned to do the following:
1) Find an article from a recent newspaper or magazine.
2) Print or cut out the article.
3) Read the article and annotate for the fundamental ideas of Freakonomics (outlined on pages 12 – 13): incentives; conventional wisdom; subtle or distant causes for dramatic effects; “experts” and informational advantage; knowing what to measure and how to measure it.
4) Write a 1- 2-paragraph Freakonomics-style critique of the article. In your critique, consider how the things described in the article may not be quite what they seem, and suggest what additional factors might be at play. Use the knowledge you gained from the book as well as your annotations from step three to inform your critique.
5) Turn in your critique and your annotated article on Wednesday, 7/ 20.
Formatting guidelines:
Your critique must be:
· typed
· titled
· single-spaced
· size 12 font
· no more than 1 page
