Think Like a Freak Book Summary

Book Summary

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Brief Summary

Think Like a Freak by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner encourages readers to adopt unconventional thinking to solve problems and make better decisions. The authors, known for Freakonomics, provide insights into breaking down complex issues by thinking differently, questioning assumptions, and using data-driven approaches. The book emphasizes the value of curiosity, experimentation, and finding new perspectives to tackle challenges in business, life, and beyond.

About the Author

Stephen J. Levitt is known for his love of data and statistics to solve problems. He is a Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago. He has received the John Bates Clark Medal for being the most influential under-40 economist.

Stephen J. Dubner is an American author, journalist, and podcaster. After writing for the New York Times and publishing a number of books, Dubner undertook the joint venture with Levitt in Thinking Like a Freak, which was an instant hit. He later launched a weekly podcast Freakonomics Radio, which got 15 million downloads around the world in 2018.

Topics

Management & Leadership

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Key Insights

Traditions and conventions are touted as universal solutions to all our problems, but that’s hardly true. With a changing world comes changing problems, and that means conventional wisdom is just a catchy way of offering you outdated solutions to modern problems. Conventional wisdom will fail you all the time, especially if you rely on it blindly.

Think Like a Freak helps you break the shackles of conventional wisdom in your mind. It gives you the tools to think on your own two feet and to question everything, even the experts. You can either be popular or right — to think like a freak means you have chosen the latter. Thinking like a freak also means to figure out the real reasons that drive human behavior so that you can come up with creative solutions to modern-day problems. And most importantly, conventional wisdom can.

Conventional wisdom will fail you time and time again

Relying on conventional wisdom is often a recipe for disaster. Conventional wisdom isn’t based on statistical evidence, which is why it can fail you at any time. Thinking like a freak means to deny conventional wisdom altogether and think on your feet. The downside to this is that you’ll be unpopular. People will criticize you for being the odd one out. It’s up to you whether you want to be right or popular.

In a soccer penalty, a goalkeeper jumps to his right 57% of the time because most soccer players are right-footed. He jumps to the left 41% of the time and stays put 2% of the time. So, shooting straight through is the kicker’s best bet. Doesn’t that defy all common sense? Yet, the math speaks for itself.

Admit that you don’t know and trust no one

It’s hard to admit we don’t know about something because we don’t want to appear stupid. But being honest about it actually makes you more credible. People acknowledge your honesty, and when you do have something to say, it will not fall on deaf ears. People will know that your opinions are well-informed and you have a clear reason to speak. In addition, admitting that you don’t know makes you open to learning.

Experts fall into the trap of trying not to appear stupid. They bluff when they can’t answer something. If they are an expert, they have the power to mislead people by passing on the wrong information. That’s why never trust anyone who gives you information blindly, even the experts. Ask the hard questions like what evidence do they have to back their claims. Thinking like a freak means trusting no one, not even the experts.

Look past the public discourse

Public discourse is almost always biased. It’s driven by buzzwords and what’s trendy. That’s what the media presents as well because it makes money with what’s trending, not what’s true. Let’s say a news anchor talks about the decline of education in America. If you ask the public, most people will pick out a couple of causes, let’s say large classroom sizes and teachers’...