WTF?!: An Economic Tour of the Weird

Peter Leeson is no stranger to explorations and explanations of bizarre behavior, nor to making the power of rational choice theory and economic thinking accessible to laypeople.  His academic papers on odd rituals and his books like "The Invisible Hook" do a bang-up job of both.But WTF?!: An Economic Tour of the Weird, is something else altogether.As far as content, the book combines eight real world behaviors that make you say "WTF?!", derived from Leeson's research and published papers.  Everything from shaking a poisoned chicken to settle a slight, to convicting insects and rodents of crimes in a court of law are examined, revealing sensible, even brilliant logic.  The theme over and again is simple but profound: given the constraints (beliefs, resources, etc.) they face, people behave in rational ways to seek their ends.  Yes, trial by combat and wife sales are rational actions in context.But what makes the content in WTF?! really stand out is the form.  Leeson's academic work is accessible, but this book is downright fun.  It's like Ripley's Believe it Or Not; enjoyable as much for entertainment as enlightenment.  Acting as a tour guide, Leeson describes strange phenomena and their rationale, while engaging colorful characters on the tour who ask many of the questions readers are thinking.  The guide pokes fun at them, and himself, shares barbs and insults, and connects to stories from his own childhood.You don't need to care one bit about economics or social theory to enjoy this book.  Conversely, if you hate fun and frivolity and care only for social science, you'll find serious economic theory in WTF?!If you don't find the world more fascinating and enjoyable, and people more ingenious and clever, after reading WTF?!, something might be wrong with you!

This book is quite simply amazing. From the personal anecdotes of "Petra the biter," the museum's curator's constant flirting with "Ania" (who fans of Peter Leeson will remember from The Invisible Hook's dedication page!), and all the witty banter among representatives of people from diverse backgrounds (Mr. Spock the economist and the clergyman), the reader will find themselves laughing throughout the entire book.Along with the hilarity of the book, its main purpose is not just to entertain but to enlighten. Dr. Leeson's work, broadly speaking, can be thought of as a defense of rational choice theory from the attacks of behavioral economics. In this capacity, the book shines. Dr. Leeson explains, using very clear and simple terms (but also more technical terms in the appendix!), why rational choice theory is the best tool social scientists have for answering the eternal question, "why?"This book, and Dr. Leeson's work in general, will go down as among the most cogent and strongest defenses of rational choice theory.

Would you leave your guilt/innocence on a criminal matter to a test of plunging your arm into boiling hot water? What about to a test of ingesting poison from a “magical” tree spirit? Would you suggest to a friend or acquaintance with whom you have a disagreement consulting a poisoned chicken to resolve your dispute? Would you ever consider auctioning your spouse to the highest bidder? (Ok, this one is cheating because anyone who’s ever been married, at one point or another, already has—but can you imagine happily and willingly being offered as a spouse at such an auction?) I could go on, but you get the gist. With Peter Leeson as your tour guide, you’ll equip yourself with rational choice theory and “travel” (safely, for the most part, within the museum) to diverse times and places and encounter these and many more examples of wildly bizarre and seemingly senseless practices.Throughout the tour, you’ll laugh at the tour guide’s vivid interactions and frequent bickering with the distinctive patrons, perhaps secretly cheer for the tour guide in his seemingly doomed attempts at openly flirting with a certain special visitor, and, at times, maybe even wish you could punch certain fictional-ish characters in the face. This tour entertains like no other. This book also exquisitely enlightens like no other. By the end of this tour, you will have learned about times and places where such practices not only existed, but were unquestionably conventional. The eccentric tour guide will moreover show you that, at these times and places, such practices were not merely sanctioned lunacy, but were undeniably sensible and even productive for those who engaged in them. In fact, you might even leave the tour with the conviction that, had you fully encountered the same limitations, found yourself in the same surroundings, shared the same beliefs, and had hoped to prove your innocence (assuming you were, indeed, innocent), you would likely have deliberately and willingly plunged your arm into boiling hot water (had you found yourself in medieval Europe) or ingested poison from a “magical” tree (had you found yourself instead in modern Liberia). I cannot recommend this book enough!

Aside from the obvious, and substantial, history and economics education this book provides, it provides something else. That something else is humility. People have a tendency to believe that their own practices make sense. Correspondingly, they tend to view historical practices, such as ordeals, wife sales, or vermin trials as if the practitioners were, to quote Bugs Bunny, "a bunch of maroons." This book illustrates why that's simply not true! (Now, one could argue that belief in the supernatural almost always leads to becoming somebody's "mark," and I would agree, but that does not change the incentives, but only the rules and/or constraints.) Great book!

Here is a summary:- trial by fire and water : fighting crime at a relatively low cost, economically efficient- wife selling : work around laws prohibiting divorce, allows exchanges which people wanted to make but would have been otherwise impossible (black market)- Gypsy superstitions : enforce contracts by internalizing the compliance to rules and increasing the fear of ostracism, economically efficient within the Gypsy community only- cursing monks: defend property rights by capitalizing on people’s religious beliefs, during the ‘feudal anarchy’ period following the end of the Carolingians- oracular divination: solve petty conflicts in small communities where recourse to the judiciary is not feasible, at a low cost and with a fair result- the prosecution of insects and rodents: propaganda to increase tax collection and economize monitoring costs by internalizing compliance, when the authority of the church was undermined by heretics, economically efficient for the tax collector only- judicial combat: allocate land to the user who most values it - like a form of trade - in a setting where legal transaction costs were very high, few deaths in combat which often ended in a settlement, economically efficient

This book was even more light-hearted and fun to read than I expected. Taking an economic tour of weird human behaviours was a great trip, and I even learned something.

Tolles Buch. Erfordert aber gute Englischkenntnisse oder etwas Geduld, um ungewöhnliche Wörter nachzuschlagen. Insgesamt aber eine eyeopener, der die Sichtweise auf „barbarische“ Verhaltensweisen einer Gesellschaft neu justiert.

This book is unreadable due to its cloying cuteness. On every page there's some silly, simpering story. I realize that economics needs to be dumbed down a bit, but this is awful. There's a a great deal of underlying intelligence here, but its buried under a load of twaddle.