freakonomics.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I think the intent behind the book is good--it's teaching the reader to think in different/creative ways. Steven Levitt combines two seemingly unrelated things in most chapters and tries to make sense of it through statistics and numbers. The arguments are coherent and logical and fairly grabbing at first. It seems that Steven has unearthed some amazing connections, but despite what he says, numbers can lie. True, numbers are numbers--they are objective. However, they can be manipulated. Statistics can be made to show anything, really. Steven also claims that we cannot trust experts, but he is an expert himself. How do we know that he doesn't have some selfish intention behind writing the book or making connections, such as these? After all, he does seem to enjoy the glory--he has quotes about his "god" status at the beginning of every section. I'm not completely against the book--I feel that if people read it in the right way, and question Levitt, just as he questions other's judgments and thoughts, a person can get a lot from the book. However, if a person reads it and just takes Levitt's words as complete truth, there's a problem. I certainly appreciate the book--I enjoyed reading it for the sheer fact that I like being critical and asking questions and I see Steven Levitt as a person doing this exact same thing in writing the book. I just hope that's its popularity is for similar reasons, and not because people believe exactly what Levitt says.