Ten years ago, as we were about to publish a book called Freakonomics, we decided to start a companion website. At the time, we thought it was a bit of a waste of time, a marketing tool through which readers could submit their own dumb-ass ideas and where we could dump some of our dreariest and most futile observations that had no chance of making it into any of our subsequent books. But guess what? It turns out there is nothing you cannot monetise, if the brand is big enough.
PS: As economists, perhaps we should have foreseen that possibility. PPS: Some of our readers reached that conclusion a while ago, with the publication of our third book.
Why do so many Americans over-estimate the probability of a terrorist attack? To be honest, I don’t really know. One possibility is that the US government spends a lot of time fighting terror. Another is that when a terrorist incident does happen, it gets a disproportionate amount of media attention. My hunch is that terrorism is just really, really scary. (SDL)
Why is restoring military conscription a terrible idea? Because the only person suggesting it’s a good one is Prince Harry. (SJD)
A Freakonomics proposal to help the NHS: It is obvious there is no disincentive for people to be ill if healthcare is provided free. Therefore, what I proposed to David Cameron was that he should send everyone in Britain a cheque for £1,000 each year. If people were prepared not to waste doctors’ time with trifles such as death-related conditions, mental health issues and chronic illnesses, they would all be £1,000 better off. And the government could probably close dozens of hospitals. Mr Cameron promised to take our idea very seriously. (SDL)
What’s in a name? Most people called Wayne end up in prison. However, our research has shown that no matter how you spell the name Stephen, you can consistently get away with murder. Thinking out loud, maybe all people called Wayne should change their name to Steven. (SJD)
Why do people care more about losing a $100 bill than house prices falling by 10%, making them $10,000 worse off? My conclusion is either that people are not always very rational or that they are exceedingly rational. I can’t work out which. (SDL)
Is cheating good for sports? After a few moments’ reflection, I am convinced that sometimes it is and sometimes it isn’t. What’s harder to work out is what makes the difference between good cheating and bad cheating, other than that really good cheats don’t get caught so you don’t know if there has ever been any cheating going on. Hmm. This is trickier that I thought. (SJD)
When to rob a bank? Extensive guesswork suggests that it’s whatever day works best for the robber. The main thing is to avoid choosing the same day as another robber – as then you will get in each other’s way and have to share the proceeds. (SDL)
If I practised golf for 10,000 hours, would I get good enough to join the PGA tour? I was reading a book that sounded like the sort of one I should be writing myself – and it suggested the key to success was doing something for 10,000 hours. I’ve always wanted to be a tournament golfer so I immediately went out and practised for two hours. By the end of that session, I did think I was a bit better. But would the other 9,998 hours result in a sufficient improvement? Hard to say, really. (SJD)
Should people without sexually transmitted infections be encouraged to have more sex to reduce levels of Aids? From an economist’s standpoint, the answer is an unequivocal yes, and I’m not saying that because most of us struggle to get laid. If more healthy people like me were offered more sex, it would reduce the chances of a healthy woman having sex with someone else who might infect them. (SDL)
Why have we called this chapter Kaleidoscopia? The simple answer is that we have run out of material for the book and have had to pad it out with a few personal stories and chats we’ve had with other rogue economists about whether they would give a beggar $10. The more complex answer comes as another question. Does anyone ever really know when enough is enough? (SJD)
Digested read, digested: Freaksploitation.
