SuperFreakonomics
-
![]()
![]()
SuperFreak Dubner embraces ClimateGate conspiracy theories
Cross-posted from the Wonk Room. Stephen J. Dubner, co-author of SuperFreakonomics, has embraced charges by the right wing that a handful of illegally obtained private emails means that the scientific consensus on climate change is actually a dangerous conspiracy. Dubner lent credence to the fevered “ClimateGate” ravings of Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sen. Jim Inhofe […]
-
Best. Review. Ever.
Freakonomics got super freaky. And super wrong. Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner are to blame for the global financial crisis. See, back in 2005, they wrote “Freakonomics,” a wildly successful book brimming with interesting stories about why incentives matter and how actions have unintended consequences. Indeed, incentives do matter, and actions (or publications) […]
-
SuperFreakonomics coauthor replies to “scathing review”
On Monday, The New Yorker published Elizabeth Kolbert’s lengthy review of SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance. In her 2400-word review, titled “Hosed: Is there a quick fix for the climate?” she writes: Given their emphasis on cold, hard numbers, it’s noteworthy that Levitt and Dubner ignore what […]
-
Why solar energy trumps coal power
The color of solar cells — and their short energy payback — are trivial factors when considering the huge climate benefit they provide in avoiding the release of CO2 from the combustion of fossil fuels. That was a central point in my first post debunking the error-riddled book Superfreakonomics. By failing to retract the many […]
-
More SuperFreakonomics climate change denial?
Is calling global warming a religion the same thing as denying global warming science? While the authors of Superfreakonomics, which is riddled with basic scientific errors, have started to issue some retractions, they continue to embrace self-contradictory denial of the basic science. In mid-October, economist Steven Levitt wrote a blog post titled, “The Rumors of […]
-
One error retracted, 99 to go
Superfreaknomics authors will, in future editions, correct their claim that Caldeira believes “carbon dioxide is not the right villain”
-
![]()
![]()
Why the ‘SuperFreakonomics’ global-warming chapter is worth your time
The two Steves knew exactly what they were doing when they sat down to pen the final chapter of their sequel to their 2005 bestseller Freakonomics. In the now infamous chapter in the newly released SuperFreakonomics, Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner manage to downplay the global warming threat, compare climate change believers to religious fanatics, […]
-
Contrarian Chic
The Atlantic Monthly named Freeman Dyson a “Brave Thinker” for the “contrarian view” he’s taken on climate change. They tout his quote, “I like to express heretical opinions. They might even happen to be true.” Like the authors of the error-riddled Superfreakonomics, Dyson is contrarian for the sake of contrarianism — the truth is secondary. […]
-
![]()
![]()
Jon Stewart praises ‘SuperFreak’ author
Cross-posted from Think Progress. On last night’s Daily Show, host Jon Stewart heaped praise on the contrarian approach to global warming taken by SuperFreakonomics author Steve Levitt, a University of Chicago economist. Stewart was dismissive of the widespread criticism of Levitt and co-author Stephen Dubner, asking, “Have you stepped on a secular religion?” Stewart, often […]
