This exciting book has been on my reading list for quite some time. Steven D. Levitt and Stephen Dubner’s Freakonomics will open your eyes to the hidden aspects of all sorts of interactions by teasing out information with careful analysis of data through statistics and logic.

Levitt is considered one of the top Economists in the country, and Dubner has an easy-to-read style of writing which keeps you entertained as well as informed.

Some of the most interesting (and controversial) bits of information Levitt has in the book:

Legalizing abortion was the single most important event in lowering crime rates.

Sumo wrestlers “shave points” to allow their rivals to win sometimes.

Real estate agents keep their own houses on the market for ten days longer than they keep yours.

Levitt uses massive amounts of data to figure out the cause and effect of various phenomena in everyday life.

This book is a must read for anyone in the marketing world.  Levitt’s method of solving problems may be unorthodox, but marketers can gain a lot of insight into the psychology of customers with the information he provides.

I’m hoping he writes another book with more revelations of these relationships…it helps to know what is going on under the surface of everyday life.