Caveat About Freakonomics (and that type of thinking)

From a WSJ article today:

"Do unhealthy people drink diet soda? Does diet soda make people unhealthy?Those are some of the questions raised by a 'surprising' new study that links consumption of soft drinks -- both the sugared and diet variety -- with a higher risk for a range of obesity-related health problems."

Is anyone else finding more and more articles/essays/books about two seemingly unrelated topics being *gasp* actually related? Or that there are connections that people seem to have never seen before but *gasp* the author shows us the way?

I know Freakonomics was a hit (and I liked the book) but it seems like economists and now everyday journalists are copying (or maybe just over utilizing) the "Freakonomics style". Maybe I've just been seeing more of this and the WSJ article on diet soda sort of pushed me over the top, but it really does seem like the "Freakonomics style" is becoming (or has become) all the rage. There have been recent books published such as "Freedomnomics" that go against the "Freakonomics style" (though, honestly, I don't like Freedomnomics either) but there are many more books that go with the style such as "More Sex is Safer Sex" and "Discover Your Inner Economist". It might just be me, but I'm starting to get sick of these cutesie copycat books.

My theory behind the proliferation of such books/essays/articles is that Freakonomics was SUCH a hit (and the publishing industry is so hard pressed for these rare successes) that when something like Freakonomics comes along most publishers say, "Ooh! Ooh! A money cow! We need to milk this for all its worth!" and then some authors come along and say, "Ooh! Ooh! The spotlight!" and then you get some mediocre books that don't quite live up to the original but sell more than enough copies to generate handsome profits all around. That's what we're seeing and fortunately we're reaching the point of saturation, which means we shouldn't be seeing these copycats much longer.

My point behind this whole post is that I'm disappointed with a general lack of originality. This applies not only to books, but also to movies, restaurants, and many other business concepts. I'm disappointed that it's better (more profitable?) nowadays to be a copycat than it is to strike out on your own and take a chance.

Linking Back: Cost of Students, Principals, and Video Games

In what I hope will become a useful feature of this blog, at the end of each week I will provide links from the previous week about topics that didn't quite get the attention of a full post.

- CNN reported yesterday that the U.S. spends an average of $8,701 per student.

- Newsweek had a great article on the role of principals in education. Newsweek has recently been criticized for their school rankings, which place heavy emphasis on AP courses attempted (and not enough on actual AP scores, as "The Numbers Guy" at the WSJ notes in this post).

- This was an interesting post off a comment one of the bloggers made about academic rigor (or lack thereof) in schools.

- A post on the role of video games in child development. I found it particularly interesting since my parents didn't let my brother and I get a gaming system until Playstation 1 came out. I 've always wondered what effect that had on our development, if any.

- Lastly, this is a great post on the impact teachers can have on a young student.