Freakonomics post: Relating Economics/Numbers to Real Life

When looking at statistics and numbers, there is much more tied to them than just the numbers themselves. There is always some reason for the statistics to be the way they are. What Freakonomics sets out to accomplish is to pull the reasoning for each of the statistics and then connect them in a huge web, explaining common phenomena's in society. These explanations always tend to  explain everything from a very odd perspective, one which many people would not see. In the first section, Steven Levitt explains how incentives, a core to economics, can be flawed. One of the strongest examples he presented which resonated with me is teachers and standardized testing. Teachers have cheated just to score better on standardized testing and therefore have done a worse job teaching their students by cutting corners. This example was very relatable to all the readers and therefore made the point on incentives very easy to understand. It also hit home with me, because I have seen many teachers cling to the standards put in place and do a poor job in actually teaching content. By choosing a very relatable example, Levitt is able to convey his point convincingly and effectively. The perspectives that Levitt presents make the reader question daily occurrences, looking at the world differently. This is a very ambitious challenge and I am excited to see how the rest of the book plays out .