The best part of this book is that it questions conventional wisdom. I don’t even question conventional wisdom anymore. I think it’s mostly BS. It seems to be right for “most people” but it seems to me that successful people don’t generally follow conventional wisdom. According to the book, “conventional wisdom” was a term coined by economist John Kenneth Galbraith and he did not mean it as a compliment. I didn’t know that, but I like this guy already.

Galbraith wrote that “We associate truth with convenience, with what most closely accords with self-interest and personal well-being or promises best to avoid awkward effort or unwelcome dislocation of life.” He also says economic and social behaviors are “complex, and to comprehend their character is mentally tiring so we adhere, as though to a raft, to those ideas which represent our understanding.”

So it seems to me he’s basically saying that most people are too lazy to think for themselves which I agree with. And that in lieu of thinking for themselves, people just follow the herd without questioning anything because it’s the path of least resistance, it’s easy, and it’s comfortable for most people.

If you’ve ever listened to “The Strangest Secret,” you’ll recall it starts with a story about an interview where the Nobel prize winning Dr. Albert Schweitzer was asked what’s wrong with men today? He said “Men, simply don’t think.” And that’s basically exactly what this economist said. Interesting.

The book is interesting too. It answers questions like What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common?, How is the Ku Klux Klan like a group of real estate agents?, Why do drug dealers still live with their moms?, and What makes a perfect parent?

But the question that has drawn the biggest reaction is Where have all the criminals gone? Back in the 1990s, many experts were predicting an explosion in violent crime but it never happened. Conventional wisdom gave credit to many factors including innovative policing strategies, increased reliance on prisons, tougher gun-control laws, a strong economy, and an increased number of police among others.

The authors went through mountains of real data and explained how most of these factors had nothing to do with the drop in crime. They argue that the legalization of abortion was in large part the cause of the drop in crime. How’s that for not following conventional wisdom? I’m not arguing for or against abortion. That’s not what this blog is about but they make an interesting case and you can read the book if you want all the details.

So how can any of this help you make money online? Reading Freakonomics probably won’t directly help you make money online, but on a larger scale it promotes creative thinking. It encourages you to question conventional wisdom. Take a step back and look at what you’re doing without filtering it through conventional wisdom. Maybe you can think of new and creative things to test if you don’t follow the herd.

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