Lost Parent Diary

What makes it so good?

This is perhaps one of the most fascinating books I’ve ever read. Here are a few reasons why…

shifts perspective - I like books that will make me think twice about the world. I love that convince me to a point of view. But, I absolutely adore books that rock the foundation of my thinking and force me to change the way I approach things. This is one of those books.
re-examines “common wisdom” - How did it shift my perspective on things? It made me realize that “common wisdom” doesn’t exist: wisdom is anything but common.
pushes the envelope - By questioning “common wisdom”, the authors end up pushing the envelope on traditional beliefs of society. Nothing can be more interesting in my opinion.

What I learned from this book:

That you can make a cost-benefits analysis of just about anything (that’s called “being an economist”) and that, if applied correctly, you can get startling results. What do you mean?

For example, I learned that real estate agents are like the KKK: both exploit an uneven distribution of information to better themselves.

I learned that sumo wrestlers are like school teachers: both can play a numbers game and with just a little bit of cheating, can get ahead.

FInally, I learned about naming babies, that reading to your kids really won’t help them in school, and that swimming pools are more dangerous than hand guns.

Sounds counter-intuitive, right? That’s exactly why I recommend the book.

In the weeks ahead, I plan on using this book as inspiration for some articles. If I do, I’ll be sure to let you know!

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