In the novel "Freakonomics", by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, many topics and their hidden sides are raised that not many people think twice about. This book does not have a theme. Instead, it's about "peeling a layer or two off the surface of modern life and seeing what's going on underneath." (Levitt and Dubner, 2005, p. 11). They are not looking at the surface of common events or problems, but it has surpassed what most people see. They explain the hidden side of everything. They range from topics about choosing your child's name to how firearms affect crime rates. Initially, this book didn't strike me as an "interesting read." I related the title to the Economics course I was forced to take in high school, which ultimately eradicated any fascination I had with the subject. However, after reading the book, I found that Levitt and Dubner's views on society and their hidden motivations were much more interesting than I initially thought. After finishing the book, I realized how much of what they talked about was relevant to my life. The relevance helped engage me in the book. As explained in the previous paragraphs, multiple themes appear in the book. The first theme was the study of how incentives are the root of people's motivations. The way they were able to compare sumo wrestlers and school teachers was enlightening. Levitt and Dubner took two things that I never would have thought had similarities and made a comparison. Incentives play into everyday life more than we think. Sumo wrestlers use incentives to get ahead in their careers, while school teachers are guilty of the exact same thing. Levitt and Dubner bring these, as well as many other issues, to light. Another comparison they made was…half of the paper…specific material for friends and family. I feel it will encourage them to make sure they are in a good place emotionally and financially before deciding to have a child, as these are the qualities that influence how children perform in school. This material could also help parents who worry that they are not doing enough to help their children do better in school. This novel can easily be compared to the topics I learned in class. The topics covered in class concern the importance of thinking critically about things in everyday life. Levitt and Dubner's book is an excellent example of the things that can be produced by thinking critically about the world around us. Being a critical thinker helps people make smart, educated decisions. Works Cited Levitt, SD Dubner, SJ (2005) Freakonomics. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers