Think Like a Freak: The Authors of Freakonomics Offer to Retrain Your Brain

This is the first time I have read a book by the authors, but I plan to read their previous books. This is such an easy, yet thought-provoking read. As someone who regularly solves problems and looks for ways to improve processes, I am excited to apply some of the lessons learned from this book. What makes this book so good is that it is full of great stories that introduce and back up valuable lessons that have the power to change your thinking. This book challenges how we currently think while giving some practical ways to think differently. It has been said that our lives move in the direction of our strongest thoughts, so to apply new thinking concepts from experts should positively affect our thinking and therefore our lives. A large portion of the book is devoted to problem-solving. It shares concepts such as thinking like a child, redefining a problem, and attacking the root cause all woven through some nicely shared stories. The stories are valuable to helping the concepts stick in the brain. Stories deeply resonant with people and are memorable. In fact, after reading this book, I aspire to be a better storyteller as there is so much value in it as a skillset to possess. The chapter about quitting revealed a big upside to quitting things that take up time, space, energy, and the likes without benefit. Or perhaps, it is time to quit one thing to be able to move on from something that is not working: a job, a relationship, a career, etc. Quitting seems like it would only apply to losers, but after reading the chapter, I understand that sometimes we continue to do things for the sake of commitment only. That reason alone needs to be weighed as sometimes one must let go to move into something more worthwhile, to the next season, or calling. The authors do not suggest quitting everything and doing nothing, but rather, to see that quitting does not equate to failure as many have been taught. I would recommend this read, especially if you solve problems a lot. Again, it is quick, easy, and interesting. This book will challenge your status quo of thinking and give you some new concepts as replacements.

Got a new refreshing perspective on things Step my emotional loads on things aside and try think of things in the new way!

Unlike the previous two books, this one seems lightweight. And including a lengthy interview with the authors in which they basically recap much of what's in the book (or in their previous books) seems like filler. Their frequent reference to having fun gives the book a feeling of being written just for the sake of it. There are some ideas here, but some of them don't really qualify as being of value, particularly within the framework of their usual work: tossing a coin to decide whether to give up a relationship or to stop doing something you've worked hard at for a long time? That just seems to trivialize the process. Asking the right questions is a valuable idea, though probably not that original, and knowing that 'I don't know' is the best answer for when you actually don't know, doesn't quite take you further. 'I don't know but I'll do my best to find out,' or 'I don't know, and I'm not sure that anyone does,' might be more helpful. I don't know... Further, you'd kind of expect a couple of authors who talk of research and the detail of data not to make two Biblical mistakes - both of which wouldn't have taken a couple of minutes to check. Adam and Eve didn't sin by eating an apple; the word is 'fruit.' King Solomon 'a young man when he inherited the throne, was eager to prove his judgment was sound' the authors write. But he wasn't eager to 'prove his judgement was sound' at all. In fact it's clear in the Bible that he was given the gift of wisdom from God because of his humility (humility at that time, anyway, if not later). He exercised this gift of wisdom to such an extent that he became known way beyond Israel's borders. The interesting thing is that this story of the two mothers is pretty much the only actual example of his exercising his wisdom. References to his wisdom at other times are either noted by the writer of the book, or by others, such as Queen Sheba. In none of those cases is there an actual example of his wisdom. In the later part of his life, of course, he proved that he'd lost the gift of wisdom when he not only had hundreds of wives and concubines, but married women who worshipped foreign gods. (