Steven D. Levitt

“Here is the broader point: whatever problem you're trying to solve, make sure you're not just attacking the noisy part of the…

— Steven D. Levitt

“Human beings, for all our accomplishments, can be fragile animals. Most of us don't take criticism well at all.”

— Steven D. Levitt

“The ECLS data do show, for instance, that a child with a lot of books in his home tends to test higher…

— Steven D. Levitt

“In a complex world where people can be atypical in an infinite number of ways, there is great value in discovering the…

— Steven D. Levitt

“Morning robberies yield far more than afternoon robberies . . .' - When to Rob a Bank: A Rouge Economist's Guide to…

— Steven D. Levitt

“The more complex a problem is, the harder it is to capture good feedback. You can gather a lot of facts, and…

— Steven D. Levitt

“[...]if you are hoping to damage opponents' mental health, go ahead and tell them how inferior or dim-witted or nasty they are.…

— Steven D. Levitt

“If asked how we'd behave in a situation that pits a private benefit against the greater good, most of us won't admit…

— Steven D. Levitt

“The impulse to investigate can only be set free if you stop pretending to know answers that you don't. Because the incentives…

— Steven D. Levitt

“From 2002 to 2008, the United States was fighting bloody wars in Afghanistan and Iraq; among active military personnel, there were an…

— Steven D. Levitt

“But if you are hell-bent on persuading someone, or if your back is truly against the wall, you might as well give…

— Steven D. Levitt

“Just because you're great at something doesn't mean you're good at everything.”

— Steven D. Levitt

“For until you can admit what you don't yet know, it's virtually impossible to learn what you need to.”

— Steven D. Levitt

“Sometimes in life, going straight up the middle is the boldest move of all.”

— Steven D. Levitt

“When it comes to solving problems, one of the best ways to start is by putting away your moral compass. Why? When…

— Steven D. Levitt

“Most of us want to fix or change the world in some fashion. But to change the world, you first have to…

— Steven D. Levitt

“We are blind to our blindness.”

— Steven D. Levitt

“If it takes a lot of courage to admit you don't know all the answers, just imagine how hard it is to…

— Steven D. Levitt

“But in both instances, the dissemination of the information diluted its power. As Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis once wrote, "Sunlight…

— Steven D. Levitt

“It is well and good to opine or theorize about a subject, as humankind is wont to do, but when moral posturing…

— Steven D. Levitt

“All of us face barriers—physical, financial, temporal—every day. Some are unquestionably real. But others are plainly artificial—expectations about how well a given…

— Steven D. Levitt

“One teenage boy, Amcher, had been named for the first thing his parents saw upon reaching the hospital: the sign for Albany…

— Steven D. Levitt

“Being confident you are right is not the same as being right.”

— Steven D. Levitt

“just because you’re great at something doesn’t mean you’re good at everything. Unfortunately, this fact is routinely ignored by those who engage…

— Steven D. Levitt

“When someone is heavily invested in his or her opinion, it is inevitably hard to change the person’s mind.”

— Steven D. Levitt