Think Like a Freak

The authors tell the story of Barry Marshall, who discovered the root cause of ulcers despite the resistance of the medical establishment. Describe another case in which someone discovered an overlooked cause of disease or other condition that the medical establishment initially fought against. How was it similar to the case of ulcers? (One example you could look at is germ theory, but you can use any other.)

Chapter 7 explains how game theory is used to identify people who don’t want to be identified. King Solomon and David Lee Roth (among others described) created schemes to anticipate people’s actions so such people unwittingly identified themselves. This is often how mystery or detective stories play out. Choose a story to analyze in terms of game theory. What were the circumstances, and what method or scheme did the protagonist use to draw out the guilty party?

Levitt and Dubner warn that incentives can often backfire and have unintended consequences, like the Mexico City driving restriction that actually led to more cars on the road. Describe an example of this from your own life—maybe from school, work, or your community.