Bring Your Questions for Alex Stone, Author of Fooling Houdini
…fly with anything you think a fledging physicist turned magician might be able to answer. This post is no longer accepting comments. The answers to the Q&A can be found…
…fly with anything you think a fledging physicist turned magician might be able to answer. This post is no longer accepting comments. The answers to the Q&A can be found…
Penn Jillette Penn Jillette is a magician, comedian, actor, producer and, generally, a curator of interesting and intelligent things. But he is best known as the self-described “larger, louder” half…
…innovation. To celebrate the release of The Knockoff Economy, let’s have a contest. Send your photos of crazy knockoff items to photo@freakonomics.com Here’s an example we saw a while ago…
Photo: iStockphoto The experts generally fall into two camps when it comes to alleviating global poverty: those who believe we simply need to spend more money in more places; and…
…can stand the person you marry enough to enjoy these efficiencies. [The economists Michele Belot and Marco Francesconi] examined data from a speed dating company … The more intriguing finding…
…During that same time, we’ve vanquished any number of similarly once-commanding pathogens, from smallpox to the plague, and have come to expect nearly complete control over newer pathogens, such as…
…a close friend) and I started making the chain and before long, everyone in the whole school was giving us their gum wrappers. We carried the thing around in a…
…Freakonomics readers. Mundaca’s primary duty is to “advise[s] the Secretary on all aspects of Federal tax policies and programs, including their development and implementation.” Mundaca also served in the Treasury…
…pro-sport standoff, in part because of the tone with which Smith and Atallah have made their case to the public. Here, for instance, is Atallah writing at ESPN.com: According to…
…been senior adviser to Tony Blair‘s Commission for Africa, addressed the General Assembly of the U.N., and met with Condoleezza Rice on her U.K. visit. He has also completed the…
…Come First, Strategic Reasoning Second 1) Where Does Morality Come From? 2) The Intuitive Dog and Its Rational Tail 3) Elephants Rule 4) Vote for Me (Here’s Why) Part Two:…
…commentary from folks like Mark Crispin Miller. The best indication that Grenier has good taste as a filmmaker: even though he interviewed me for a couple hours for this film,…
…Girls Get the Corner Office) The Gold Misses (Asian Women Take Over the World) This post is no longer accepting comments. The answers to the Q&A can be found here….
…adaptation of their new book Scorecasting: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports Are Played and Games Are Won. You may recall this as the book Levitt described as?”[t]he closest thing…
…between boys and girls to examine why boys are falling so far behind in the classroom. In her new book, The Good School: How Smart Parents Get Their Kids The…
…entrepreneur. He hasn’t always applied his smarts to cards: a former computer programmer, he started out working at Lockheed Missiles and Space Company on artificial intelligence projects; he also sold…
…Ridley has offered to field questions on the topic from Freakonomics readers, so ask away in the comments section below. As with past Q&A’s, we’ll post his answers shortly. Addendum:…
…puzzling economics of sports, why ties should be allowed in baseball, and how football highlights America’s least flattering features. Sanderson’s most recent piece comes from the November 2011 issue of…
…and his research collaborators found behaves like a muscle: it can be strengthened through exercise but it becomes fatigued from overuse. Willpower is generated in large part by sleep and…
…(which, in some instances, was stretched to include sacramental brandy and Champagne), and ‘preserved fruit’ (aka hard cider and applejack).” Okrent explores how “a freedom-loving people decide[d] to give up…
…12. A CLIMATE OF HEALTHY SKEPTICISM 13. WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW CAN HURT YOU This post is no longer accepting comments. The answers to the Q&A can be found here….
…The New York Times and AdWeek , among others. His lament about his editorial commissions: [I wish] they would not piss around trying to get something chaste. I only want…
…they don’t [care], sometimes not at all. For example, during one particularly hot day in July in the early morning hours, an elderly female wandered onto the freeway and was…
…book called Identity Economics, George A. Akerlof and Rachel E. Kranton discuss a compelling way of understanding irrational behavior: “People’s notions of what is proper, and what is forbidden, and…
How to deter curious co-workers? I like this question: If you keep a folder of important/embarrassing material on your computer’s desktop (or I guess a real desktop, even) and want…
…modules. He founded Starcraft Boosters, Inc., a rocket design company, and the nonprofit ShareSpace Foundation, devoted to space education programs and advocacy. In addition to several children’s books and other…
…the comments section below. As always, we’ll post his answers in short course. Here’s the table of contents to get you started: Parentology 101 Syllabus Preface: “Parentology” Defined 1. What…
…Rays 12. Put-Downs, Pickups and the Power of No Epilogue: Garbage In, Garbage Out This post is no longer accepting comments. The answers to the Q&A can be found here….
…disappointments to thoughts of suicide. Warren eventually accumulated more than 175,000 post-secrets from all over the world, which he turned into more art exhibits and also compiled as several best-selling…
Keith Hennessey Keith Hennessey is the outgoing chief economic adviser to President Bush and director of the National Economic Council. When Obama takes office, Lawrence Summers will take his place….