Freakonomics

I was expecting, like many reviews, to find lots of fluff. But actually, it seems like a very fun romp through very unique datasets. I like the idea of exposing behaviors (Sumo cheating) or showing that choice of public school has not statistical effects on test scores. And the idea of a Sudhir Venkatesh hanging out with crack gangs is really interesting. In general it shows that the media's conclusions and the statistical evidence are almost always at odds, no pun intended. Sure the conclusions are debatable, but the point is that you can debate them. Looking through data to find surprises is always fun, so I definitely recommend it.

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