
Think Like a Freak
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Narrated by:
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Stephen J. Dubner
About this listen
The New York Times best-selling Freakonomics changed the way we see the world, exposing the hidden side of just about everything. Then came SuperFreakonomics, a documentary film, an award-winning podcast, and more.
Now, with Think Like a Freak, Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner have written their most revolutionary book yet. With their trademark blend of captivating storytelling and unconventional analysis, they take us inside their thought process and teach us all to think a bit more productively, more creatively, more rationally - to think, that is, like a Freak.
Levitt and Dubner offer a blueprint for an entirely new way to solve problems, whether your interest lies in minor lifehacks or major global reforms. As always, no topic is off-limits. They range from business to philanthropy to sports to politics, all with the goal of retraining your brain. Along the way, you’ll learn the secrets of a Japanese hot-dog-eating champion, the reason an Australian doctor swallowed a batch of dangerous bacteria, and why Nigerian e-mail scammers make a point of saying they’re from Nigeria.
Some of the steps toward thinking like a Freak:
- First, put away your moral compass - because it’s hard to see a problem clearly if you’ve already decided what to do about it.
- Learn to say “I don’t know” - for until you can admit what you don’t yet know, it’s virtually impossible to learn what you need to.
- Think like a child - because you’ll come up with better ideas and ask better questions.
- Take a master class in incentives - because for better or worse, incentives rule our world.
- Learn to persuade people who don’t want to be persuaded - because being right is rarely enough to carry the day.
- Learn to appreciate the upside of quitting - because you can’t solve tomorrow’s problem if you aren’t willing to abandon today’s dud.
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Overall
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Performance
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SuperFreakonomics challenges the way we think all over again, exploring the hidden side of everything with such questions as: How is a street prostitute like a department-store Santa? What do hurricanes, heart attacks, and highway deaths have in common? Can eating kangaroo save the planet? Levitt and Dubner mix smart thinking and great storytelling like no one else.
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By: Steven D. Levitt, and others
-
When to Rob a Bank
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- By: Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner
- Narrated by: Stephen J. Dubner, Steven D. Levitt, Erik Bergmann
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Freakonomics was initially published, the authors started a blog - and they've kept it up. The writing is more casual, more personal, even more outlandish than in their books.
-
-
this book is free on the blog and podcast.
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By: Steven D. Levitt, and others
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- By: Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner
- Narrated by: Stephen J. Dubner
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Levitt and co-author Stephen J. Dubner show that economics is, at root, the study of incentives: how people get what they want, or need, especially when other people want or need the same thing. In Freakonomics, they explore the hidden side of...well, everything. The inner working of a crack gang...the truth about real-estate agents...the secrets of the Klu Klux Klan. What unites all these stories is a belief that the modern world is even more intriguing than we think. All it takes is a new way of looking, and Freakonomics will redefine the way we view the modern world.
-
-
Good, but be careful
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By: Steven D. Levitt, and others
-
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- By: Charles Duhigg
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- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The author of The Power of Habit and “master of the life hack” (GQ) explores the fascinating science of productivity and offers real-world takeaways to apply your life, whether you’re chasing peak productivity or simply trying to get back on track.
-
-
Read the last chapter first
- By A. Yoshida on 04-29-16
By: Charles Duhigg
-
Misbehaving
- The Making of Behavioral Economics
- By: Richard H. Thaler
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Richard H. Thaler has spent his career studying the radical notion that the central agents in the economy are humans - predictable, error-prone individuals. Misbehaving is his arresting, frequently hilarious account of the struggle to bring an academic discipline back down to earth - and change the way we think about economics, ourselves, and our world.
-
-
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-
The Tipping Point
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- Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
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Performance
-
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😫THIS NARRATOR IS UNBEARABLE 😫
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Overall
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Performance
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Good info, but painful to listen to
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What listeners say about Think Like a Freak
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Amazon Customer
- 07-08-14
A 5-hr book buffed up with 2-hr of radio archives
Any additional comments?
Having listened to the authors' last two books, I did not expect any really serious stuff and find it overall an enjoyable listen. However, the abrupt ending of the book just a bit after 5 hours surprised me as I was still expecting more interesting stuff to unfold. I suppose some statement about its actual length should be in the book description to prevent any disappointment.
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