If you’re looking for a non-fiction book that helps you expand your thinking and relates to economics, history, psychology, business and more, Think Like a Freak is a perfect book for you.
Introducing Think Like a Freak
Even without reading the first couple of books that Levitt and Dubner had released, Freakonomics and Superfreakonomics, this book stands alone pretty well and was an enjoyable read all throughout.
I came across this as a suggested reading in my Whole Person Education class, and my professor spoke highly of it. The praise this book receives is truly well deserved.
Though I normally prefer fiction books in the comedy or thriller genre, I still couldn’t put this book down. It’s a fun and short read at around 250 pages, and the way the authors frame different situations and encourage the reader to think for themselves and in different ways.
It really promotes outside of the box thinking and applies it to so many scenarios from competitive eating, to Winston Churchill, to fake restaurants that win awards.
The way this book gets its point across with different anecdotes and analogies is very entertaining and it’s impossible to feel bored while reading. For people that haven’t sat down and read a book in a while this is a good place to start. You can read this in one sitting and have a new perspective on the world.
Favorite Quotes from Think Like a Freak
“A barrier to thinking like a Freak is that most people are too busy to rethink the way they think—or to even spend much time thinking at all.”
“Solving a problem is hard enough; it gets that much harder if you’ve decided beforehand it can’t be done.”
“…when it comes to generating ideas and asking questions, it can be really fruitful to have the mentality of an eight-year-old.”
Final Thoughts
I believe that in today’s climate where we have access to lots of content that allows us to get straight to the point, it becomes so easy to accept things for what they are without progressing the discussion or trying to seek different perspectives.
It’s very important to not lose touch of our creative and critical thinking. We need to learn about things and then form our own takes and opinions about it.
This book has definitely broken the monotony I was trapped in. I felt like I was stuck in a rut, consuming short form content within one minute, reading short excerpts of news and moving on. After reading it, I have really started to think more for myself and outside the box, like a freak. It makes life so much more interesting.
Whenever I would finish reading an article, I would think to myself, “So what does this mean for the people involved, could it be better or are they doing the best they can?” or something along the lines of that. Whereas before I have read it, I would just take it as information and move on. I think that so many more people need to “retrain their brains” as well, and give this book a read.
More of the Authors
Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner have a lot more of their work to offer for those who would like to see more. Other than their two other books aforementioned, Freakonomics and Superfreakonomics, they have a podcast, Freakonomics Radio.
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