The Why Axis: Hidden Motives And The Undiscovered Economics Of Everyday Life (2013) - Plot & Excerpts
If you liked Freakonomics this is another good read. Uri and John explore education and poverty and jobs from the perspective of an economist and run some pretty cool experiments. I wished the book had gone a little more in depth. The summary of the findings were often shallow and a little bit of vague generalizations. I wanted more of the statistics from the experiments cited. It covered a few too many topics to get in deep with any one. Would be great to read an entire book just about his education experiments with Chicago high schools and preschools. All in all though, an interesting read. The two economists ask questions like: how can we make girls more competitive on the market and in life, so as to reduce gender inequality? what incentives could we use to reduce the gap between poor school kids and rich ones? how can we make people donate more?They never question the assumptions behind the causality they interrogate. For example, the competitivity conundrum is presupposed as inevitable and the economy that functions on the darwinist ideology of "survival of the fittest" as natural. The gap between the poor and rich students is analyzed and "fixed" through financial incentives (they say 10 months are enough for eliminating the gap), while never asking themselves WHY is the gap there in the first place. If you reduce the differences in learning with money, maybe you should not search for better incentives, but resolve the large economic inequality at the root of all this.Their effort is commendable, but if you never question the assumptions behind your "WHY", the answers you reach will only ameliorate the effects of causes never questioned.I recommend reading Kahneman's Thinking, fast and slow, a much more complex and engaging read on similar themes and beyond.
What do You think about The Why Axis: Hidden Motives And The Undiscovered Economics Of Everyday Life (2013)?
Tip for women: always negotiate and ask for more money at hiring - Key finding from first chapters.
—Audge88
Some interesting stories but not worth it if already familiar with their work.
—muffins
Liberal pseudoscience packaged as science.
—Jessica
