Diana Tkach

So I challenged a few people I know to run/walk with the Nike + Sports Kit and I’m ahead of everyone by over 40 miles. I love the voice feedback you get when you set your workout and they count down to motivate you. Everyone should try it.

Everytime Apple has one of these special events, I get all geeked up and hit the “refresh” button on my favorite Mac blog about a zillion times.

As soon as the Apple Store opened back up, I knew I needed the nano.

It’s so small, nearly weightless… I’m about a thousand times more in love with it than I am my original-sized iPod. Now that I’ve gone nano, I can’t go back!

It’s over now. The few days I had between semesters were a flurry with the flutter of turning pages.

I used to want to be an economist, but I didn’t have the patience to look at formulae and care what was going on. I, like so many others, like to get the answers to my questions without doing to much work to get there. I don’t like to read anything more than 100 pages because a) I have the ADD and b) I’m lazy and would rather surf the net.

Somehow, this Steven Levitt has been everywhere promoting this book. I pre-ordered in hardback (which I never do because I know things are cheaper in softcover) before I’d even heard any press on Freakonomics. I saw the book cover as a “New In Books” at Amazon and loved that apple/orange graphic. I do judge books by their covers.

So I read the synopsis, thought it interesting, and 2-day-shipped it to me (relax, I’m an Amazon Prime member).

So rarely do I like reading about statistics. I do not usually enjoy learning about history. But somehow the lighthearted style of this book made it nearly impossible to put down. The most controversial topic in the book is hands-down the theory that Roe v. Wade directly affected the crime rate in the 90s (when it dropped dramatically when economists were predicting a sharp increase). I really enjoyed learning about how a crack gang works (much like a McDonalds, according to Levitt).

I loved the theory of nature versus nurture and how parents really change their children’s lives. Levitt’s conclusion? It’s more who you are than what you do. My absolute favorite part of the book discusses naming conventions: why black names are “black,” why parents name their kids what they do, how names get popular and in which circles, and how the name actually molds the person attached to it. There was this great little story about brothers named Winner and Loser: Winner ended up in jail and Loser ended up with much money and respect.

Freakonomics is a great read for anyone who likes to know things. I have to say that Levitt’s been getting some great press: I’ve personally witnessed him on the Daily Show and the O’Reilly Factor. Then I read a two page spread about the book in Money magazine. He’s really goofy sounding (maybe he’s camera shy?), but the book is solid.