Rate: 4/5

Medium: Audiobook

Overview:

I’m currently in a bit of an audiobook slump as none of the titles I’m currently on hold for are available from my local library. Instead, thanks for my friend Bethany I’ve been introduced to the podcast, Hello from the Magic Tavern that I’ve been positively binging through.  In the moments where I needed a break from the magical world of Foon, I picked up Think Like a Freak by the authors of Freakonomics.  I had previously read Freakonomics back in December of 2017 and was blown away by Levitt’s unique way of perceiving the world.  Months later I still find myself thinking about and recounting the various research Levitt and Dubner presented in their first book.  In Think Like a Freak, the authors have compiled the novel ways in which they view issues or interact with people that allow them to come up with their often controversial solutions. Many of the research stories they highlighted during their examples were familiar from Freakonomics, and I suspect almost all of the remainder of the book’s anecdotes were reused from previous material especially if I’d read Superfreakonomics.  I’m sure there are new stories too intermingled throughout. For example, I now know more about Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest than I ever thought I would.  Regardless, it was fascinating to revisit the repeated stories from a problem solving perspective.  Again, as I warned in my Freakonomics review, if you are close minded this is not the book for you.  Overall, Superfreakonomics has been added to my TBR list as Levitt and Dubner have continued to impress and I am already planning on rereading Think Like a Freak again in the near future.