Think Like a Freak

by Steven D. Levitt

While a penalty kick aimed at the center of the goal is significantly more likely to succeed, only 17 percent of kicks are aimed there. Why so few?

new Freakonomics.

Married people, for instance, are demonstrably happier than single people; does this mean that marriage causes happiness? Not necessarily. The data suggest that happy people are more likely to get married in the first place.

For most people, it is much harder to say I don’t know. That’s a shame, for until you can admit what you don’t yet know, it’s virtually impossible to learn what you need to.

“Prediction”, as Niels Bohr liked to say, “is very difficult, especially if it’s about the future.”

If it takes a lot of courage to admit you don’t know all the answers, just imagine how hard it is to admit you don’t even know the right question.

Even today, many people still believe that ulcers are caused by stress or spicy foods. Fortunately, doctors now know better.

the best predictor of success among young economists and journalists is whether they absolutely love what they do. If they approach their job like—well, a job—they aren’t likely to thrive.

low earners spend a much bigger share of their income on the lottery than higher earners.

Just keep in mind that as much as you may enjoy playing the lottery, the state is having even more fun—because it always wins.

“Children read books, not reviews,” he wrote. “They don’t give a hoot about the critics.” And: “When a book is boring, they yawn openly, without any shame or fear of authority.”

To the average company, a customer is a human wallet from which the company attempts to extract as much money as possible.

Which means the UN wound up paying polluters millions upon millions of dollars to … create additional pollution.

Unlike humans, a driverless car won’t drive drowsy or drunk, or while texting or applying mascara; it won’t change lanes while putting ketchup on french fries or turn around to smack its kids in the backseat.

what happens when some cyber-terrorist steers every vehicle west of the Mississippi into the Grand Canyon?

“When you offer free food and alcohol at the end of the day, people tend to show up,”