Analysis Of Levitt And Dubner's 'Think Like A Freak'

In the book Freakonomics, written by economist Steven D. Levitt and journalist Stephen J. Dubne, the authors go through different parts of modern life to show how economics describes why people act a certain way as well as the way specific outcomes occur. They look into different aspects of society and view them with different perspectives. With the use of specific data and the fundamentals of economics, the very obscure comparisons and the different chapters in the book show correlation between economics and human nature. The main point of this book is to explain a few fundamental ideas through the answers of strange questions and how they play a major role in society.

One of the major points in chapter one is Sociological Imagination which is a connection between a person’s person life and social factors that play a role in affecting someone’s life. For example a young man was just released from prison, he searches for a job. Due to his criminal record employers will not hire him. As a last resort he turns back on his old ways of illegal activity. The personal issue here is that the young man cannot find a job but the social factor is there is not many job out there for felons. I believe Social Imagination is meant to open our minds to think in a wider aspect of why some of our problems occur. Another major point in chapter one is called Critical Thinking. Critical Thinking is the processes of being able to agree with a statement by looking at what facts and evidence can back it up. Wade and Tavis created a simple six plan rule to help us think in a more critical way. It consists of six steps. The first one being able to ask tough questions that other might be afraid to ask tough questions others might be afraid to. Step number to be to be able to think clearly and consider all the evidence to explain your argument. Next is to be opened minded and think of how someone else’s agreement or disagreement might also be correct. After that we should always look at the big picture analyzing a problem and lastly be able to admit when you’re wrong.

In Cat’s Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut investigates the negative impacts that can result from humanities pursuit of knowledge through literary structure, irony, and symbolism. Kurt Vonnegut, well known for his pessimistic attitude and writing concerning the flaws of human nature, focuses this energy into Cat’s Cradle. Using satire interweaved with poetry, Vonnegut is successful in challenging the merits of human progress.

Annie Dillard’s “Living Like Weasels” details Dillard’s encounter with a weasel in the wild, and her attempts to come to terms with her feelings about said meeting. Dillard not only goes into great detail about the experience itself, but she also provides a very good background on weasels, as well as others’ experiences with the animal. Through her use of background analysis on weasels, as well as with her own experience, Dillard uses the three rhetorical appeals to argue why we humans could and should “live like weasels”.

In chapter 2 of Freakonomics the main argument is that the absence of information can be used for personal gain. The main example used to display this tactic is when the KKK is compared to real estate agents. Although the crafty practice of real estate agents is in no way similar to the horrors of the KKK, they have a distinct similarity when it comes to the hoarding of information. The majority of the chapter focuses on the history of the KKK and Stetson Kennedy’s effort to stop it through the infiltration and exposure via radio of the Klan. Since the Klan was dependant on their violent—despite not being extremely violent—reputation, the disclosure of the information they had withheld from the public rendered them powerless. The narrators

The song “Wing$” is a song by Macklemore and Bryan Lewis. The song is from 2011 and have over 83.000.000 views on YouTube . This analytical essay will mainly have focused on analyze and in-terpret of the song “Wing$”. Macklemore and Bryan Lewis draws us through a story about a young boy, who wants to be accepted and recognized. The mainly themes of the essay contain recogni-tion, acceptance and consumerism. However, the essay draws parallels to twice of Steve Cutts illustrations.

The desire for self-improvement has propelled humanity into considerable scientific advancements. But as scientific developments continue to grow, these advancements carry certain implications on humanity which need to be justified in the light of philosophy. In the science fiction novella, “Understand,” Ted Chiang challenges the audience’s philosophical views regarding extraordinary hyper-intelligence by demonstrating that heightened intelligence can be beneficial to humanity if used in a moral and ethical manner. The story follows Leon Greco, a freshly-minted mastermind, as he journeys from a vegetative state to a medical advancement after being treated with an experimental drug. In this context, Chiang uses mimesis to mimic Greco’s

Characters are a vital element of fiction; without them, a story falls apart because the readers are forced to only focus on its plot, setting, or other aspects of fiction. Characterization is the process in which the author describes the distinctive nature or features of a particular character. A character is often characterized by their own dialogue, actions, thoughts, appearance, and interpretation by the author or by other characters in the story. Through these methods, an author can really bring their characters to life for the reader. In “My Kid’s Dog,” Ron Hansen uses these methods to bring all his characters to life. He portrays the strained relationship an owner has with his ‘daughter’s’ pet dog, and the difficulties overcoming his hardships. Through methods of characterization, Hansen unveils the friction between the dad and the dog and allows the reader to empathize with them, incorporating humor throughout the story, as well.

Leslie Marmon Silko’s novel, Ceremony, reveals how the crossing of cultures was feared, ridiculed, and shunned in various Native American tribes. The fear of change is a common and overwhelming fear everyone faces at some point in their life. The fear of the unknown, the fear of letting go, and the fear of forgetting all play a part in why people struggle with change. In Ceremony the crossing of cultures creates “half-breeds,” usually bringing disgrace to their family’s name. In Jodi Lundgren’s discourse, “Being a Half-breed”, is about how a girl who struggles with understanding what cultural group she fits into since she is a “half-breed.” Elizabeth Evasdaughter’s essay, “Leslie Marmon Silko’s “Ceremony”: Healing Ethnic Hatred by

How much do people believe parents or others around them influence their viewpoints on the things around them? How much do others influence their culture and traditions? I believe people only sometimes affect another’s viewpoints. For some people, they are similar to their parents, but not always. That’s why I can infer that the people around others can only sometimes influence their viewpoints on certain aspects of life. I enjoy similar things compared to my family, but I also love various things as well. So, before anyone feels like somebody is influencing their viewpoint on life and culture, they need to realize that their views are only sometimes persuaded by other people.

Annie Dillard’s essay “Living Like Weasels” exhibits the mindless, unbiased, and instinctive ways she proposes humans should live by observing a weasel at a nearby pond close to her home. Dillard encounters about a sixty second gaze with a weasel she seems to entirely connect with. In turn, this preludes a rapid sequence of questions and propositions about “living as we should”. Unfortunately, we tend to consume our self with our surroundings and distractions in life, which is not a problem until we are blatantly told. How have we strayed so far from our once instinctive lifestyle?

Redeployment, a national book award winner by author Phil Klay is a powerful, informative book about the Iraq war. It is composed of twelve incredible stories. The most memorable story for me is titled “Bodies.” The title got my attention emotionally and logically. Making sense of life, to readjust in the civilian world is the main theme of this story, which I believed it is a struggle to find direction to continue to live life and not just exist. Manipulation was another theme that made the process of connecting with people less stressful. However, it was not the most effective method.

Introduction Before My Heart Stops is the memoir of Paul Cardall, who was born with a congenital heart defect. This book is about his life, faith, disappointments, sorrow, heart transplant, and the new chance of life. Cardall was born with a double inlet left ventricle (DILV) defect and within 24 hours, he had his first heart surgery. His parents were given the unsettling news that their infant son had a short life expectancy. Cardall, at the age of 36 was the longest living person with a congenital heart defect/disease in the state of Utah to survive and become a recipient of a new heart (Cardall, 2010).

IV. What is the main problem Breyer describes in Breaking the Vicious Circle concerning United States policy making? What causes it and how does the problem develop? How does it affect business? What solution does Breyer propose? Describe another plausible solution. Which of the two solutions, Breyer’s of that you just described do you consider morally preferable and why? What ethical theory discussed in class best supports your position? Critically assess this theory by contrast with other ethical theories discussed in class.

Overall I enjoyed The Leviathan as a film. However, this movie means so much more than what you see during the scenes of the movie. Although the movie is shot in a very small town in northern Russia and we only meet a couple characters it has a feeling to it as if that is a lot larger than what we are seeing. It opens with distant, monumental views of Russia’s north shore, where large rock formations slope down into a gray sea. Soon we see the husks of abandoned sea-faring vessels along the water’s edge, where, later in the film, we’ll observe the enormous skeleton of a beached whale. The Leviathan took an almost impossible task of tackling religion as well as political corruption within Russia all within one movie. The Leviathan took examples and lessons from the Book of Job as well as examples of political vermouth of Thomas Hobbes. Its story expresses a sense of pervasive political corruption; it has been read as a daring critique of conditions in Vladimir Putin’s Russia. With this critique of the Russian Government as well as the Russian Orthodox Church as well as religion in general we see the stepping stones for an exceptionally dramatic and controversial movie.