(Untitled)

[thefourthvine]

Book I Have an Issue With:

SuperFreakonomics, by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. I knew I was in trouble with this book during the first chapter, which is on prostitution, the glories thereof. (At least for white women.) They reviewed a single study and talked to two prostitutes, one a street walker and the other a higher-priced prostitute, and

Comments

[musesfool]

I *heart* "The True Meaning of Smekday" SO MUCH. I keep recommending it to people, too, but they don't seem to get it (until they read the book). Possibly because I am mostly flaily and incoherent about TIP and J.LO and SLUSHIOUS! Maybe I will reread it again this weekend. Sigh.

[thefourthvine]

I know! I think this book is so good that it actually works against itself, reducing people who read it to incoherence so that they can't properly indoctrinate their friends and relations.

J. Lo wishes you to be reading it againsoon this end of week!

[best_beloved]

Is our copy of The True Meaning of Smekday still missing from the move? *whimper*

[thefourthvine]

I believe so. *pats soothingly*

[shinealightonme]

I am amused that every single 18-22 year old in my Science for Idiots class could do a pull off a better, more scientific study than Mr. Levitt & Mr. Dubner.

[thefourthvine]

I am starting to suspect that my dog could pull of a better analysis than they could. It's economics by idiots!

[reginagiraffe]

*sigh*

*puts a hold on it at the library*

[thefourthvine]

*cheers wildly*

[alwaysaddled]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2009/oct/21/superfreakonomics-prostitution-dubner-levitt

Freakonomics was also dumb in many ways (for example the chapter on parenting which treats IQ points as the be-all and end-all of parenting).

[innocentsmith]

And then the rather less polite and more capslocky followup in Sady's awesome blog Tiger Beatdown:

AMANDA: the only appropriate response to the ridiculous question posed in the article would be, “I don’t know, why don’t you suck cock for a living?” Why don’t you suck cock, out of your fancy house, instead of being a famous economist? I’m sure that will be the pertinent question in “SuperDuperFreakonomics: The Freakiestonomics Yet”

SADY: yes, at some point. WHY AREN’T LEVITT AND DUBNER JOINTLY FELLATING YOU RIGHT NOW: A FREAKONOMIC ANALYSIS.

Good times.

[thefourthvine]

I guess Levitt and Dubner are dumb! Or maybe they just don't like sex!

I am going to have to go follow Tiger Beatdown, I see that clearly.

[thefourthvine]

That is an awesome link and makes me very happy. I only wish I'd read it instead of the damn book.