Think Like a Freak: Summary Review
This is a summary review of Think Like a Freak containing key details about Think Like a Freak.
What is Think Like a Freak About?
"Think Like a Freak" is a book by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner that provides insights into how to think creatively and solve problems in innovative ways. The authors, both economists and co-authors of the popular "Freakonomics" series, argue that traditional problem-solving approaches often fail because they are limited by conventional wisdom and preconceived notions. To succeed in today's complex and rapidly changing world, it is important to think outside the box and embrace unconventional ideas and approaches.
Think Like a Freak states that one should avoid preconceived notions and prejudices when approaching societal issues and related questions. The examples given include the controversial study of Robin Goldstein of an experiment that he conducted in which 500 subjects, in a blind taste test, preferred cheaper to more expensive wine.
Summary Points & Takeaways from Think Like a Freak
Some key summary points and takeaways from the book include:
* Embrace unconventional thinking: To solve complex problems and find new solutions, it is important to question conventional wisdom and approach problems with a fresh perspective.
* Be willing to experiment: Don't be afraid to try new and unconventional approaches, even if they seem counterintuitive or unlikely to work. The only way to truly know if an idea will work is to put it into practice.
* Ask the right questions: In order to find innovative solutions, it is important to first ask the right questions. This requires a deep understanding of the problem and a willingness to look at it from different angles.
* Focus on incentives: Understanding the motivations and incentives of those involved in a problem can help provide insights into potential solutions.
* Be curious and never stop learning: To be a successful problem solver, it is important to maintain a sense of curiosity and continue learning and expanding your knowledge base.
* Overall, "Think Like a Freak" encourages readers to adopt a more unconventional and creative approach to problem-solving and decision-making, and provides practical tools and strategies for doing so.
Who is the author of Think Like a Freak?
Steven David Levitt is an American economist and co-author of the best-selling book Freakonomics and its sequels.
Stephen Joseph Dubner is an American author, journalist, and podcast and radio host. He is co-author of the popular Freakonomics book series: Freakonomics, SuperFreakonomics, Think Like a Freak and When to Rob a Bank.
Think Like a Freak Summary Notes
Summary Note: Thinking Like a Freak: Challenging Conventional Beliefs
The main theme in this passage is the importance of challenging conventional beliefs and relying on statistical evidence to solve problems. Thinking like a freak involves breaking away from conventional wisdom and using unconventional methods to solve problems. For example, statistical evidence suggests that aiming for the center during a penalty kick in soccer is more likely to be successful, but players often avoid this strategy due to its violation of conventions. Similarly, the “local food” movement is often perceived as environmentally friendly, but recent studies have shown that it may be counterproductive. While thinking like a freak has its advantages in solving problems, it can also put people at risk of being unpopular or losing the faith of their fans, as in the case of the penalty-kicker who aims for the center or the friend who reveals the flaws of the “local food” movement.
Summary Note: Admitting Ignorance and Not Blindly Trusting Experts Can be Advantageous
Many of us struggle to admit when we don’t know something, and we often pretend to have knowledge or expertise we don’t possess. This behavior stems from our fear of appearing ignorant or stupid in front of others. However, admitting our lack of knowledge can actually be beneficial. By acknowledging what we don’t know, we can learn and eventually figure out the truth. It can also increase our credibility, as people are more likely to trust us when we honestly confess our ignorance.
Experts are also prone to pretending to know things they don’t. As a result, we should be cautious about blindly trusting them. They are often motivated to make bold predictions, even when they’re unsure of the outcomes. Experts who are right can be celebrated for years, while those who are wrong are often forgotten. Additionally, experts are frequently terrible at making predictions, with their accuracy rate lower than the chance of flipping a coin.
The message behind this main idea is that admitting our ignorance and not blindly trusting experts can lead to better decision-making. We should embrace our lack of knowledge, ask questions, and seek the truth. It’s okay not to know something, but it’s not okay to pretend we do. By acknowledging our ignorance, we open ourselves up to learning and growth.
Summary Note: Redefine the problem to find effective solutions.
Public discussion often focuses on a single aspect of a problem, causing us to overlook other relevant factors. To find effective solutions, we should look beyond the media’s focus and ask the initial question: what is the problem we are trying to solve? This allows us to identify other aspects of the situation and arrive at solutions that can make a real difference. For example, the American education crisis is often discussed in terms of the schooling system, but studies show that factors such as parenting have a much greater influence on children’s performance in school.
In addition to looking beyond public discourse, it can also be helpful to redefine the problem. When Kobi, a slim Japanese student, entered the world’s biggest hotdog-eating competition, none of his competitors saw him as a threat. But Kobi redefined the problem from "How can I eat more?" to "How do I make hotdogs easier to eat?" This led him to invent new techniques, such as dunking the buns in water and eating them separately from the sausages, which helped him double the previous record and win the contest.
By redefining the problem, we can often find more innovative and effective solutions than by simply trying to optimize the existing approach. This requires looking past the obvious and considering the problem from different angles. The key is to ask the right questions and not be afraid to challenge assumptions or conventional wisdom. By doing so, we can discover new insights and approaches that can help us achieve our goals.
Summary Note: Solving Problems by Thinking Outside the Box
Think Like a Freak suggests that to identify the root cause of a problem, we need to think outside the box and not just focus on its symptoms. When we face a problem, we tend to look for solutions that fit within our pre-existing framework, which often limits our perspective. However, by thinking creatively and challenging our assumptions, we can find more effective solutions.
To illustrate this, Levitt and Dubner in their book Freakonomics, investigated the reasons behind the drastic decrease in violent crime since the 1990s. They discovered that the increase in abortions in the 1970s, which led to fewer births of unwanted children, resulted in fewer children growing up in difficult circumstances, which often lead to criminality. This shows that by thinking outside the box and looking beyond the obvious solutions, we can find the root cause of a problem.
Another important aspect of problem-solving is to avoid mistaking symptoms for causes. For example, poverty and famine are not the root cause of a problem, but instead, they are symptoms of an underlying issue – the absence of a workable economy and credible political, social, and legal institutions. To address poverty and famine, we need to focus on the root cause and implement solutions that promote economic growth, improve governance, and build stronger social structures.
To think outside the box, we need to challenge our assumptions, ask unconventional questions, and be open to alternative perspectives. This can help us identify novel solutions that we may not have considered otherwise. By looking beyond the obvious and avoiding mistaking symptoms for causes, we can effectively address problems and create positive change.
Summary Note: Think Like a Child to Think Like a Freak
Authors Levitt and Dubner suggest that thinking like a child is an essential part of thinking like a freak. Children, due to their curiosity, are difficult to deceive and are more likely to notice essential aspects that adults often overlook. The authors argue that having fun doing work and confronting the obvious can also lead to insights and success.
The authors use the example of a professional magician to illustrate their point. Though one might think it's easier to impress children with magic tricks, they are actually more challenging to deceive due to their curiosity and desire to see things from different angles. Adults, on the other hand, are more likely to focus their attention on one thing, leaving them vulnerable to misdirection.
The authors argue that having fun doing work and confronting the obvious are also crucial to thinking like a freak. If you enjoy what you're doing, you'll want to do more of it, and engagement is the best predictor of future success. Confronting the obvious means asking questions that others usually don't, which can lead to all kinds of insights.
In summary, thinking like a child means being curious, open-minded, and willing to see things from different angles. It means having fun doing work and asking questions that others might not. By embracing these behaviors, we can cultivate a freakish mindset that leads to innovative solutions and success.
Summary Note: Incentives Drive Human Behavior: Understanding Them Can Help Solve Problems
To understand problems and arrive at solutions, it is important to recognize how incentives drive human behavior. Incentives can be anything from financial rewards to societal pressures. A study by psychologist Robert Cialdini found that the most important incentive for people to save energy was protection of the environment, followed by the belief that energy conservation benefits society and saves money. Surprisingly, the incentive that was ranked the lowest – “other people are doing it” – turned out to be the strongest motivator for energy conservation in a real-life experiment.
Understanding incentives can help us change behavior effectively. If we want to change an individual’s behavior, using a public service message that appeals to the herd-mentality incentive, such as “everyone is doing it, why not you?” can be more effective than using a message that shames or criticizes the individual. When incentives are aligned with the desired behavior, they can lead to successful problem-solving.
Incentives can also lead to unintended consequences, as in the case of a hospital that instituted a policy of fining doctors for every patient who was readmitted within 30 days. This policy led to doctors avoiding high-risk patients and, in some cases, providing suboptimal care to avoid readmissions. Therefore, it is important to consider the potential unintended consequences of incentives when designing policies.
Understanding incentives and how they influence behavior is crucial for solving problems effectively. Whether you are trying to motivate individuals to change their behavior or designing policies to address complex societal problems, paying attention to incentives can help you achieve your desired outcomes.
Summary Note: Understanding What Drives People Can Reveal Their True Intentions
The main idea of this Think Like a Freak chapter is that understanding what motivates people can help reveal their true intentions. By understanding the incentives that drive behavior, you can set traps that reveal whether someone is being honest or deceitful. The chapter gives two examples of this in action: the story of King Solomon and the two women and the example of Van Halen's strategic use of their M&M rider.
In the first example, King Solomon was able to determine which woman was the true mother of a child by threatening to divide the child in half. The true mother revealed herself by being willing to give up her claim to the child in order to save its life. This strategy works because people who are lying or cheating will respond differently to a given incentive than honest people.
In the second example, Van Halen used their M&M rider as a strategic trap to ensure that concert promoters were paying attention to their safety requirements. By asking for M&Ms with no brown ones, the band could quickly determine whether a promoter had carefully read their instructions. This strategy worked because promoters motivated by easy money would overlook the M&M request, while those motivated by professionalism would not.
Understanding what drives people can be a powerful tool in determining their true intentions. By setting strategic traps, you can reveal whether someone is being honest or deceitful. This can be useful in a variety of contexts, from personal relationships to business negotiations.
Summary Note: How to Persuade Someone: Listening and Storytelling
Persuading someone to change their mind can be a difficult task, especially when it challenges their beliefs or worldview. People tend to ignore facts that don't fit their existing opinions and are often overconfident in their own views. Therefore, before attempting to persuade someone, it's essential to get them to listen. This means acknowledging and respecting their point of view, and telling a story to capture their attention.
Research shows that scientifically literate people are often more likely to hold extreme opinions, such as believing that climate change is either extremely worrisome or totally insignificant. This could be due to their higher level of education, which enables them to find evidence to support their views while ignoring opposing arguments. Therefore, presenting evidence alone may not be enough to persuade them.
When trying to persuade someone, it's essential to acknowledge the strengths of their argument and explain how you arrived at your opposing point of view. Additionally, using catchy stories can be more effective than presenting abstract details since stories are harder to ignore or forget.
Ultimately, persuading someone to change their mind requires patience, empathy, and a willingness to listen. By understanding the importance of storytelling and respecting the other person's point of view, you can increase your chances of success.
Summary Note: Letting Go of Conventional Wisdom for a Happier Life
The main idea in this passage is that letting go of conventional wisdom can make us happier. Most of the advice that we have been given over the years, such as "a winner never quits," is actually counterproductive when it comes to happiness. We often hesitate to quit even when quitting is clearly the better choice because of social pressure, sunk costs, and the opportunity costs. However, by letting go of these conventional wisdoms, we allow ourselves to become much happier.
The authors set up a website on which people facing a difficult decision could flip a virtual coin. After some months, the participants were asked whether they acted upon the coin flip and to gauge their happiness level. Two major decisions to quit left people happier: breaking up with one’s partner and quitting one’s job. This doesn't mean that people should quit everything, but there's nothing to suggest that quitting always leads to misery.
It's important to note that quitting isn't always the best solution, but the point is that we shouldn't be afraid to let go of things that no longer serve us. We should examine our lives and be willing to make changes when necessary. By letting go of conventional wisdoms that may be holding us back, we give ourselves the opportunity to find happiness and fulfillment.
Book details
- Print length: 304 pages
- Genre: Nonfiction, Economics, Business
What are the chapters in Think Like a Freak?
Chapter 1. What does it mean to think like a freak?
Chapter 2. The three hardest words in the English language
Chapter 3. What's your problem?
Chapter 4. Like a bad dye job, the truth is in the roots
Chapter 5. Think like a child
Chapter 6. Like giving candy to a baby
Chapter 7. What do King Solomon and David Lee Roth have in common?
Chapter 8. How to persuade people who don't want to be persuaded
Chapter 9. The upside of quitting
What is a good quote from Think Like a Freak?
Top Quote: “Don’t listen to what people say; watch what they do.” (Meaning) - Think Like a Freak Quotes, Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
What do critics say?
Here's what one of the prominent reviewers had to say about the book: “Over nine entertaining chapters [Levitt and Dubner] demonstrate how not to fall into hackneyed approaches to solving problems and concretely illustrate how to reframe questions.” — New York Daily News
* The editor of this summary review made every effort to maintain information accuracy, including any published quotes, chapters, or takeaways. If you're interested in enhancing your personal growth, I suggest checking out my list of favorite self-development books. These books have been instrumental in my own personal development and I'm confident they can help you too.
Chief Editor
Tal Gur is an author, founder, and impact-driven entrepreneur at heart. After trading his daily grind for a life of his own daring design, he spent a decade pursuing 100 major life goals around the globe. His journey and most recent book, The Art of Fully Living, has led him to found Elevate Society.
