Finishing Freakonomics!

Freakonomics #5: Chapters 5 and 6 (pages 133-188).

Compose a 2-page, typed, double-spaced paper that addresses the following questions:

Based on the chapter, describe "good parenting" versus "bad parenting." What makes a child "good" or "bad?"

Is there a discernible pattern in how certain names move through the population over time? If so, describe it.

Freakonomics Writing #2

For Thursday (2/25), compose a 2-page, typed, double-spaced paper answering the following questions.

1. Briefly trace the rise and fall of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). What factors undermined its power and contributed to its fall?

2. Discuss "information asymmetry" and give examples of everyday information asymmetries we encounter in everyday life.

Week Four and Five

WEEK FOUR
For Thursday (2/14): Freakonomics, 1-47: Introduction and Chapter 1.

Type a 2-page, double spaced paper answering the following two questions:

1. According to Freakonomics, what is the difference between morality and economics? Explain, and give some specific examples that illustrate the authors’ explanation.

2. What are "incentives?" Give specific examples from real life experiences.

Also, we will have QUIZ #1 at the end of class. Anything we have read and/or discussed is fair game. The quiz will consist of two short essay questions.

WEEK FIVE
For Tues, Feb 19: Applying critical thinking. Read the following short essays:

"History of Critical Thinking" (from the Foundation for Critical Thinking)

"All Thinking Is Content" by Richard Paul

"The Role of Thinking" (from the Critical Thinking Consortium Website)

For Thurs, Feb 21: Critically thinking about Reading, Note-taking, and Class Discussion

Freakonomics #5 Writing

Writing due on Wed/Thurs (Nov 14/15): Freakonomics, 163-191.

Is there a discernible pattern in how certain names move through the population over time? If so, describe it.

Summarize the purpose of Freakonomics. What does this book aim to do?

Assignments, Parenting

Next week, we will begin talking about diversity.

For Mon/Tues (Oct 29/30): Please look at UNIT 7 in Foundations and familiarize yourself with its content. Generate ideas/questions about diversity in our society. What IS diversity? Is it desirable and/or valuable ? Why or why not?

For Wed/Thurs (Oct 31/Nov 1): Read Freakonomics Chapter 5: "What Makes a Perfect Parent?"

Type a two-page, double spaced paper that addresses the following question(s):

According to Freakonomics, how much does having "good parents" contribute to a child's academic success? How might having "bad parenting" affect children? Use evidence from the book to support your claims.

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In other news:
The WKU Hilltoppers men's basketball team kicks off the season with a Red/White scrimmage this Thursday night at 7 pm in Diddle Arena. This is an excellent campus event opportunity. No charge.

Assignments, Poker, Immigration

Next Week:
Mon/Tues: General Education, Spring class scheduling, degree programs, credit through testing, graduating "on time," majors, etc. Be prepared to ask questions about these items.

Wed/Thurs: Writing. We will look at common problems in writing college papers, and ways to improve writing and research.

In other news:
The online poker cheating scandal at Absolute Poker has been blown wide open. See how a part owner of Absolute Poker appears to have been involved. This is a good lesson in Freakonomics' emphasis on trust in business dealings.

The Freakonomics blog posted an interview with British economist Phillip Legrain on how more immigration would actually help the U.S. economy. Legrain also argues that "freedom of movement is one of the most basic human rights." This idea seems to go against much "conventional wisdom" regarding immigration. Are more fortified borders "good" conventional wisdom or "bad" conventional wisdom?

Assignments for Next Week

For Week 8: Oct 15-19
Mon/Tues class: Read 117-130 in Foundations. Related to this, take the following Jung Typology survey. It will give you a four letter personality type at the end (ex., INTJ, ESFP, etc). Know your four-letter personality type when you come to class on Mon/Tues.

Wed/Thurs class: Read chapter four in Freakonomics, pp 105-132. In a two page, typed, double-spaced paper, answer the following question:

What are the most compelling explanations for the drop in crime during the 1990s? What makes these explanations so convincing?

LIBRARY ASSIGNMENT DUE OCT 18 (Tues-Thurs classes)/OCT 19 (Mon-Wed classes).
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In other news:
Freakonomics blog names winner of contest to rename the computer.

The road to the White House goes through...your eyes? Presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush41, Clinton, and Bush43 all have one physical trait in common: blue eyes. Maybe I have a shot at the presidency--but I would likely need a shave and a haircut.

More spillover from Radiohead. The "set your price" download of their new album is not CD quality. This raises all kinds of new questions about the value of music.

Get Your Freakonomics Book Signed By the Authors (Sort of)

The logistics of mailing your book to Levitt and Dubner after the semester to be signed and then shipped back is not time- or cost-effective. So, click here to get a bookplate signed by the authors. It's basically a sticker signed by the authors that they will sign and send to you for free. Then, upon arrival, you can peel it off and stick it inside the front cover or on the title page. Or on your car. Or forehead.

In other news:
Want to ward off illness and infections? Try a crap sandwich. Slate.com argues that our food, and therefore our bodily systems, are too purified.

Radiohead Update: they reportedly sold a whopping 1.2 million copies of their new album yesterday. This morning, ABC's Good Morning America reported that people paid an average $8 for the album. So, that's a cool $9.6 million for the band's "free" album. Again, thinking freakonomically, why would people pay $8 if they can get it for free? What incentives are in play here? Will the amount paid go down over time? More on this as it develops.

Is breathing air in Europe now more dangerous than driving a car? A new study suggests that pollution caused by global warming is responsible for more deaths per year than car accidents.

Assignments for Next Week/Radiohead

For Week 8: Oct 15-19

Mon/Tues class: Read 117-120 in Foundations. Related to this, take the following Jung Typology survey. It will give you a four letter personality type at the end (ex., INTJ, ESFP, etc). Know your four-letter personality type when you come to class on Mon/Tues.

Wed/Thurs class: Read chapter four in Freakonomics, pp 105-132. In a two page, typed, double-spaced paper, answer the following question:

What are the most compelling explanations for the drop in crime during the 1990s? What makes these explanations so convincing?

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Also, for your pleasure, here is the link to Steven Levitt's blog on the new Radiohead album. Radiohead is allowing people to pay whatever they like to download their new album. This is quite "freakonomic" in nature. Think about the incentives involved here. What do you think the average "donation" will be? How many people will download and not pay anything?

She's a Gold Digger

Freakonomics co-author Steven Levitt looks at the economics of attractive, young, gold-digging women in New York City.

For Wed/Thurs (Oct 10/11): Read Foundations, 102-114. Also, go to the Cravens Library 2nd floor to the "On Reserve" section. Ask for Basham's UC 175 reading from Thomas Friedman's The World Is Flat. It's pages 1-17.

No formal writing, but do bring two questions to discuss in class.