SuperFreakonomics

I recently finished the sequel to the first book reviewed in the most recent instantiation of this blog. SuperFreakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner is an enjoyable read, but is a sequel in a real sense of the word.

This book feels more like a set of case studies than the first book which had more emphasis on theory and motivation. By reading the first book, one gets the direction they are going and can see more clearly what is going on in this second book. The case studies are more interesting (and controversial) than the first book for sure, but let me strongly encourage you to read Freakonomics before embarking on SuperFreakonomics.

As you can see on the cover, the subtitle presents us three of the interesting case studies they consider in this book. All of the information in the book is, at the least, thought provoking, but for the sake of brevity (and to keep from ruining the book for you), I'm going to stick to the subtitled ones. I'll touch on these in reverse order.

After the multiple terrorist attacks (and attempted attacks) around the globe, governments have become much more concerned with trying to stop terrorists before they attack. They have tried to come up with a logarithm that will accurately determine who is and is not a terrorist before they perform an act of terrorism. Among the different things considered in the logarithm is whether or not the individual has life insurance. Common sense would tell us that if you knew you were going to kill yourself, there would be little point in owning life insurance. Come to find out, this is a key indicator as to the likelihood that someone might be a terrorist. So if you're a terrorist and want to be successful, buy life insurance. Now, before you think that they've just disclosed a huge national security secret, they make it clear that there is an indicator that is by far the most reliable indicator to determine whether someone is a terrorist or not, and they do not even think of disclosing it. But, it is true that if you are a suicide bomber and you don't want to get caught, buying life insurance is one way that may make it a bit harder to catch you before you do it.

Now one may legitimately wonder, what in the world is going on with patriotic prostitutes? Sadly, the idea of a patriotic prostitute was minimally explained, just pointing to the fact that in a park in Chicago, the number of prostitutes available during the Fourth of July weekend is drastically increased (as are the prices) over a normal time. Basically, when there is a greater demand for prostitutes and a greater amount to be earned, these incentives lead to some women being a prostitute for one weekend of the year and making out really well. Once again, the drive of incentives that we saw in the first book comes up here. They say some other really interesting things about prostitution (and the correlation--not causation--between the decrease in the number of women prostitutes and the decrease of American education), but I'll let you read the book to learn those things.

The last part of the subtitle is by far the most controversial. They are not arguing that the earth is cooling and working with the assumption that the earth is warming and humans are behind it.* They are talking about possible ways (if needed) to help cool the earth temporarily in order to allow time to develop efficient alternative fuel sources and fend off the rising oceans and destroyed coastline that would come about from that happening. Needless to say, the solution offered is incredibly interesting, quite affordable (it is projected to cost significantly less than Al Gore's foundation spends each year just on trying to educate people on global warming), apparently safe for the environment, could quickly be completed, temporary, adjustable, and easily reversible. I won't ruin it for you, but it really caught me off-guard why I had never heard of this as a possibility, particularly given how bad the situation we're in is explained to be.

Much of this book focuses on rethinking conventional wisdom, or at least encouraging us to be willing to question things that we do not understand. The heavy emphasis on incentives found in the first book is weaker in the sequel, but still underlies a lot of the thinking. However, the ultimate focus is that we should be willing to question the status quo, but question in a way that digs for something deeper, not just simply to be contrarian, as some have accused these men as being.

I think both Freakonomics and SuperFreakonomics are books that would be good to read along with a book like The Sacredness of Questioning Everything by David Dark, particularly in an Introduction to Philosophy class. I'm in the process of putting final touches on a syllabus for Introduction to Philosophy that would be called "Questioning Questions" or "Doubting Doubt", but the focus would be on searching for truth, and the role that questions and doubt play in coming to truth. We would read Dark's book, some Platonic dialogues, Descartes' Meditations, something from Kierkegaard or Nietzsche, and end by looking at some controversial issue, encouraging the students to work through the issue of that semester from a questioning mindset, rather than as an attempt to prove what they already think or disprove what they already disagree with. I think a chapter or two from either Freakonomics or SuperFreakonomics would fit perfectly into a class like that.

Regardless, I recommend that you read Freakonomics, and once you've read that (or if you already have), to read SuperFreakonomics. You may not agree with everything they say. You may not change your mind on anything. But at the very least, you'll be challenged to at least reevaluate why you see the world as you do.

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*Disclaimer: I personally believe that whether the earth is warming or cooling, and whether humans had anything to do with that, we were created to be stewards of God's creation, regardless whether there are or are not negative consequences for irresponsible action and whether we can or cannot make a positive difference on the problem of climate change by changing the way we live. In other words, as Christians, whether the problem of climate change is real or an illusion, we should always be living in a way that takes our original role in creation seriously.

Eat for Health

For Christmas, Jess got a set of books entitled Eat for Health by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. She started reading the books and quickly became convinced that both of us needed to read the books and that we needed to start taking some of the steps that are talked about in these books. Initially I was skeptical that these books were setting us up for a fad diet, but to humor my wife, I decided I would read the books.

Once I started reading Book One - The Mind Makeover, I became hooked. Dr. Fuhrman explains clearly the method behind his plan. It is not a diet, in that, you eat a particular way in order to lose way. Instead, it is a lifestyle change. This way of eating is based on the idea that our bodies are built to take care of many of the physical problems we have. The reason we end up needing medication or surgery is largely because we don't give our bodies the nutrients they need to take care of themselves.

Dr. Fuhrman makes a distinction between macronutrients (calories, proteins, and fats) and micronutrients (think vitamins). We give our bodies far too many macronutrients and far too few micronutrients. The lack of micronutrients is due largely to the lack of fruits and vegetables in what we eat. He argues that our focus should be on eating nutrient dense food, that is, food that has many nutrients per calorie. Fruits and vegetables are the most nutrient dense food that we can eat. Because these foods are so dense, Dr. Fuhrman allows you to eat as much of these foods as you want. Although some may be concerned with calories, 300 calories of fruits and veggies will fill your stomach, whereas 300 calories of chicken barely fills a quarter of your stomach and 300 calories of oils barely fills any part of your stomach. In other words, you can eat your fill of veggies and will consume so few calories and so many nutrients that it will not work against you.

Dr. Fuhrman would like to see people eating 90% of their daily calories from fruits and veggies. However, he has a four phase plan to help people adjust. He makes it clear that you can stop at any phase and it will help your body out from the way you are eating now. The first phase he wants you to eat a half a pound of veggies a day and a half a pound of fruits a day. This may seem like a lot, but if you spread it out over multiple meals or munch on some fruits and veggies as snacks, you hit the half pound marks really quickly. Additionally, he advocates that you eat till you liquify your food, as many fruits and veggies often do not give us the nutrients they have as we do not break them down enough. The second phase increases the fruits and veggies to a pound a day each, while the final phases focuses much more on reducing animal products, oils, and non-fruits/veggies. Again, you don't have to make it to phase four. If you do, you'll see drastic changes in many different areas of your life. However, making it to phase one or two will still do good things for you. Phase three and four only become necessary when you start dealing with things like diabetes and heart disease, for you can help your body deal with these diseases without having to become dependent on meds for the rest of your life.

The thing to keep in mind in this process is that you can still eat other things. If you want to eat the birthday cake and ice cream, you can. If you want a steak, you can. However, the idea is to focus on making sure your body is getting the micronutrients, because here in America, we have no problem at all getting our macronutrients. (I was surprised to find out the protein and calcium content of many fruits and veggies!) If you try to get the bulk of your calories from fruits and veggies, you'll go a long way toward accomplishing that goal.

The second book is basically a cookbook full of recipes that help implement the kind of lifestyle needed. We haven't tried many of the recipes, but look forward to bringing more and more into our supper rotation.

I've been trying to eat more fruits and veggies and reducing some of my animal products. I'm somewhere between phase one and two on my fruit and veggie intake, but lagging in the animal products, although I've accepted that I love my milk and cheese too much to ever get to phase three or four. Over the last month (while being somewhat inconsistent due to traveling), I've dropped 6 pounds, while doing nothing in the way of extra exercise. Both Jess and I are trying to add more physical activity to our lives. However, the focus is not on losing weight, but rather on eating healthier and being healthier people. Thanks to Dr. Fuhrman, I think we're on our way!

I highly recommend this set of books if you're looking to find a way to eat healthier in a way that is not a fad diet. I made a vegetarian chili tonight that turned out incredibly well and will be cooking with eggplant for the first time tomorrow night. It's changing the way we look at food and encouraging us to try to live healthier lives. I hope it can do the same for you!

The Book of Basketball

For Christmas, I received The Book of Basketball by Bill Simmons, of ESPN.com. I have been looking forward to this book for some time, as I am a big fan of Simmons' writing and podcasts.

The book is pretty much what it sounds like. It covers all aspects of basketball. It tells the history of the NBA from its origins to present day. It discusses 31 different "What Ifs?" about how a trade here or there or a draft pick or an ownership change or other things each changed the landscape of the NBA or significantly altered the career of a player. It sets up the Pyramid of Fame (replacing the Hall of Fame) in which different players are on different levels of the pyramid, with the top 12 players of all time being at the top and are referred to as "The Pantheon". The book discusses the top 10 champions of all time, as well as the team you would put together if you had a time machine and had to construct a team to play Martian invaders who are set on destroying our planet if we lose. Basically, Simmons gives his thoughts on many parts of the NBA.

The thing that makes this book different than most sports books is that Simmons blends his humor, knowledge of popular culture, and personal bias with the facts about sports. This blend makes a 700 page book a very enjoyable read. I found myself alternating between audible laughter and the noise made when you learn something new. The book is written in a way that you can read a lot at one time, or you can use it for a bathroom reader (which he encourages in one of his columns, I believe).

If you enjoy basketball and you enjoy pop-culturally informed writing, I highly recommend this book. As I mentioned, it's 700 pages, but the read goes quickly given Simmons' wit.

Freakonomics

I'm going to do much more writing this year. I am also going to do more reading. I hope that these two statements would be true, even if I wasn't writing my dissertation this year. On this blog, I want to write up thoughts about what I'm reading, things that might show up in my dissertation, and things that have nothing at all to do with my dissertation.

Speaking of my dissertation, I'm defending my prospectus next Wednesday afternoon, so a week from now, I plan to be ABD (All But Dissertation)!

The first write-up of the year is Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner's Freakonomics. This book originally came out in October 2006, but was a gift this year for Christmas twice.* I thoroughly enjoyed the book, as the writers search to question conventional wisdom on a range of topics. They are great writers, writing in a fun, accessible way, while dealing with topics that are normally considered unaccessible by non-academics.

They state that conventional wisdom (according to a guy named Galbraith) "must be simple, convenient, comfortable and comforting." If you look closely at that definition, the word "true" is nowhere to be found. It was interesting to watch them address some of our ideas (like a house with a gun is more dangerous than a house with a pool) and show how conventional wisdom is not based on facts as much as it is on risk avoidance. Risk is defined as "hazard + outrage", in that when we think of risk, we're not just thinking about the hazard involved, but also the outrage that is felt if that event were to occur. So when we think about a child drowning in a pool, we feel sad, but not necessarily outraged. However, when we think about a child dying in a gun accident, the horror drastically increases the outrage we feel. So even though a child is 100 times more likely to drown in a pool (about 1 in 10,000 chance) than in a gun accident (about 1 in a million), we work much harder to increase gun safety and feel much more leery about sending children to a house with a gun than we do to institute things that would drive down the number of children who drown in a pool each year. The authors argue not that taking a stand against guns in houses is wrong, but rather, the reasons most people hold for taking such a stand are misguided.

The authors are very careful to discuss the difference between a strong correlation and causation, and tend to stick to strong correlations more often than not. However, time and time again we see that conventional wisdom, while it may feel good, is not always true.

I'm wondering how (or if) this book could fit into an Introduction to Philosophy class. I'm presently looking at using David Dark's The Sacredness of Questioning Everything in a class next spring as a way of encouraging students to realize that we must be willing to ask questions, even questions that may initially seem ridiculous, if we are going to arrive at truth (and that we should always work to arrive at truth). It seems like Freakonomics would be a book that could do a similar job.

Regardless, Freakonomics is a great book that I would recommend to most anyone! The authors published a sequel (Superfreakonomics) that came out this past fall (and which I ordered for myself on Amazon.com today for $12). If you want a book that will make you think and laugh at the same time, Freakonomics is for you.

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*My wife and mother-in-law both independently came up with the idea of getting it for me for Christmas. However, by the time my mother-in-law gave it to me, I was almost done with the copy from my wife.

I'm really bad at this blogging stuff...

Well, it's been over 2 1/2 months since I last wrote. In that time I've:

• Successfully run a half-marathon
• Gotten a dissertation topic approved
• Presented a paper on Nicholas Wolterstorff's work in front of him
• Finished teaching at UMHB
• Starting lifting weights again after a shoulder problem prevented that for a couple months
  
• Had a paper accepted for the Evangelical Philosophical Society conference in November
• Received an Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award for Baylor University

I think that's the bulk of it. I give my last final of the year at Baylor on Monday. Then I'll be fully devoted to getting my dissertation prospectus ready for defense, hopefully this summer. I'll also be working on my syllabus for the Existentialism class I'm teaching in the fall. Between those two things, I'm sure I'll have things to write about this summer.

Right now, my "fun" reading consists of:

• Satan and the Problem of Evil by Gregory A. Boyd
• The Sacredness of Questioning Everything by David Dark

I think the latter of the two has potential as a textbook for an Intro to Philosophy class. I've really enjoyed the books by David Dark, and especially enjoyed his wife's music (Sarah Masen).

The former is the second book in a "trilogy", and I had read the first one, God at War, at the beginning of this year. I've been listening to Boyd's podcasts for awhile, and realized that he treats spiritual warfare with a seriousness that I have not typically encountered. For awhile, I've believed in the reality of spiritual warfare but it didn't actually fit anywhere in my intellectual or practical scheme of life. These books have definitely helped change that, particularly in the intellectual realm. I'm still figuring out how this works out in my life, but think that these books are definitely worth looking at. (The third book in the "trilogy" is actually a forth-coming work that is presently projected to be two volumes, roughly a thousand pages in each.)

As far as music to check out, I've recently become aware of the band Obadiah Parker (fronted by Mat Weddle). They're most famous for an acoustic cover of Outkast's "Hey Ya" but I've enjoyed all of their stuff I've heard. I definitely recommend them. I also recommend the new Kelly Clarkson album, but that's another story.

Ok, that's enough writing for now. Hopefully I can do better with writing and actually get into some ideas worth discussing soon.

Running for....

This year I got ambitious.

I decided working on a dissertation wasn't enough.

I decided working on a dissertation while teaching two classes wasn't enough.

I decided that in addition to that, I was going to run the Bearathon at the end of March. For those of you who don't know, the Bearathon is a half-marathon (13.1 miles) that Baylor puts on each year that runs through Waco and Cameron Park. This has added a new element to my life to say the least. Before about a month ago, I had never run 5 miles at one time, let alone 13.1.

Today was a significant step on that journey. Today I ran 11 miles. I was only supposed to run 10, and Baylor has a trail that is 2.25 miles, so I had decided to do four laps and throw in a little extra loop on each lap, which came out to be 11 miles. I really should have mapped this out beforehand, I guess.

Regardless, I feel a sense of accomplishment. I mean, if I run at that speed in 5 weeks, they'll shut down the course before I finish, but still, I ran 11 freaking miles today. I'm not too worried about the race, as it's still 5 weeks away and I wasn't THAT far off pace and there'll be more frequent refreshment stops AND my dear brother Jared will be joining me for the race!

I've been keeping a running log on-line throughout this process and it's fun to see the miles add up. I'll keep you all (those are two separate words, not one) informed as I progress through this trek!

Teaching reflections

Today is the end of the semester for me. My logic students are taking their final as I write.

This semester has been one of the most rewarding semesters of my life. It was so rewarding largely due to the fact that I was teaching three classes; one logic class at Baylor, and two classes (Intro to Philosophy and Philosophy of Religion) at Mary Hardin-Baylor. The joy of teaching students, especially students who want to learn, is something I find incredibly fulfilling. Seeing the light bulb turn on as a student understands something after much struggle. Watching students realize for possibly the first time that some questions don't have as easy of answers as they thought they did. Having those same students really wrestle with the issues, determined to come out on the other side. Receiving complements from students, explaining that they appreciated both the material covered in class as well as the presenter. All these and so much more made this semester so wonderful.

I've also done a lot of reflection, thinking back on the professors who shaped me, both as a person, and now I realize, as a professor. I find quirks in the way I go about things in the classroom that remind me of Stump, Meister, Erdel, and Petrik, whether it is in the way I teach, how I explain something, how I respond to something, the interaction with the students outside of class. I've long known that these men have had a profound impact on me as a person, and I am much better because of it. Now I realize, they too have shaped me as a teacher. I've had students respond to my teaching in ways much like I responded to theirs. This has affirmed that I am going down the right path, and hopefully I can continue to grow to become like these men who have taught me so much, both in and out of the classroom.