Freakonomics - Stephen Dubner

I just finished the book Freakonomics, and was very pleased with what I learned. The author, an economist, writes about intriguing ideas. He says that many times, asking weird or random questions  will produce no results, but sometimes, you may be surprised at what you find. That is what he does throughout the entire book, but also teaching the reader many different ideas throughout. He always supports his conclusions with evidence, and his logic is very tightly-knit.

An example that I clearly remember was his chapter about how sumo wrestlers and teachers were similar, in that they both cheat. In this chapter, he also taught the reader about incentives. The incentive for the teacher to cheat is very simple. Teachers are often giving a raise if they have students with high test scores. Some teachers will go at great lengths to help there students test scores, giving answers right before tests, extra credit, but a few even change the answers AFTER the students have turned them in. As usual, Dubner makes the chapter very interesting. He also explains common ways teachers try to cheat, and how regulators catch them. One such example of how teachers cheat is that they only take a few questions, let's say 25 -30, and makes nearly all of these students get them right, then changing some to be wrong on purpose to hide her work. Dubner clearly explains how teachers will exposed, but you will have to read the book to find out!

So what about sumo-wrestlers? As Dubner explained it, sumo-wrestling is an extremely popular sport in Japan. The top 66 in the nation is what most people aim for, the elite. These 66 wrestlers earn much more money than any others. Four times a year, a national tournament takes place, over the span of 15 days, with one match a person each day. If a wrestler was able to come out with a winning record, their rank would increase, as well as their salary. In order to get an 8-7 record was much easier than you could think. Using an example from the book, let's say two wrestlers face off on the last day of the tournament. One is 7 - 7, and the other on is 10 - 4. You would expect the person with the better record to win a greater percentage of games right? Wrong. Because the person with the 7 - 7 record needs one more win to gain, often the 10 - 4 wrestler lost on purpose. He would essentially be making an investment. When the tournament comes around again and the situations are flipped, the other wrestler will return the favor, losing on purpose. If everyone in the top 66 helps each other, then every one will benefit.

I found these two examples extremely interesting. If you do to, be sure to read it!