Freakonomics position paper Essay

Freakonomics is an pick look at queering almost of the establish wisdom as removed as our ideas close to life in general and economics in particular(a) go. It is an irreverent and funny al-Quran most about of the truths that we shell out to be self-evident. It is hotshot of the supports in the new genre of non-fiction that attempts to fountainhead few of the academic theories that all of us take for granted. There atomic number 18 separate books like Black Swan, surreptitious Economist and Tipping Point that concur tried and true to explain social phenomena in footing of going beyond the academic dogma.The theme for this essay is the Perfect parent assumption that deals with some of the myths concerning electric razor rearing and caoutchouc that parents riding habit in bringing up their children. The essay looks at the chapter in exposit along with the material looked and then attempts to upkeep the claims as well as present some criticism of the same. Ho wever, Freakonomics bottom of the inning in like manner fall into the trap that it has displace for open up theories. For instance, chapter five that deals with a Perfect sustain hypo thesis can easily be debunked by theories that contradict the authors claims. Usage of information and former(a)wiseFreakonomics relies heavily on statistical demonstrate to debunk many of the truths and offers some data to prove some counter-intuitive truths. As the authors terra firma, they want to expose the orphic spot of everything. Towards this, the authors take on many established certainties and prove that we often tend to overappraisal the potential risk in say, speedy and under-estimate the risk associated with driving when statistical evidence clearly shows that more people expire in road accidents than air accidents. The book is definitely an attempt to look for the hidden connections as can be seen from the linkage of abortion to the low crime.The lawsuit of Roe. vs. wade an d the resulting decrease in crime is a effectual example of this. plot of ground it makes sand to blame everything on our inability to time risk or use valued analysis in everyday life, the event re mains that with the abundance of theories being floated on a daily basis, there is no one correct way to lede a life, let alone parenting. While the purpose of this essay is non to debunk Freakonomics, nonetheless we should remain cautious about information overload . This is one inclination of an orbit that would make us derive some meaning out of the current age.Chapter pentad The Perfect parent hypothesis The chapter deals with the interrogatory What makes a perfect parent? It deals with the statistical evidence to prove that Though there is correlation between parents who are highly educated, cods not from single homes and their test scores, it is not enough to establish a bugger off and effect scenario between two sets of factors The data also proves that black chil dren doing soberly at school most probably operator that they are from a low income plate rather than that they are black. An example of this would be the success of black golfer tiger Woods.Having an upbringing that was virtually elitist, the success of tiger Woods proves the above hypothesis. Though the authors go for not quoted this as an example, they nonetheless state that the data from the ELCS scores is highly advance for anyone who wants to have a shot at the black albumin hypothesis of doing badly/well at school The other set of data that the authors present relates to the child safety seats that sell in millions compared to having a child in a rear seat. This is what they call the outrage decrease for the obsessive parenting.This can be compared to the example of a terrorist attack like 9/11 that can be seen in terms of sensational value as compared to the number of people who die from hoagy shot wounds. Countering the authors claims in Chapter Five The main criti cisms against chapter five are Overgeneralization Attempt to dazzle Usage of anecdote when the authors make claims found on data The authors contention that good parenting as the experts claim may not hold the key and their frank rise to power that many of the outcomes of a childs personality cannot be measured physique of stand out against their other claims.The stretch out berth refers to the black youngster who had to fend for himself at the age of twelve and the white kid who has all the advantages. The black kid turned out to be Levitts co-author while the white kid turned out to be the Unabomber. The point being made here is when the authors use so much data, what is the point of utilise anecdotes. The authors repeatedly try to discourage the anecdotic evidence and instead concentrate on statistics to prove their point. So, this is one trap that the authors laid for themselves .Also, the temptation to dazzle with truths sometimes is overarching and can be avoided. Conventional wisdom The books as well as the chapter fives thesis is all about how customary wisdom can often comport us wrong. And it is here that the authors score their best. Often, we take the truths handed down to us as the norm and though scholarly studies have tried correcting the myths, the authors deserve credit for put out the evidence in a fashion as understood by everybody.Conclusion Though we have interpreted one truth as our thesis and provided views on both sides i. e. to support as well as debunk, nonetheless the book is an entertaining read and is a adept attempt to get past the scholarly daze that most of the academic journals and mainstream seek provide. At times, the book might attend to be like a journalist explaining economics but the reason for this is that the authors are trying to put their point across to laypeople.