Readers: I need your help!
More than once, my blog readers have proved themselves to be cleverer, smarter and more insightful than I am about a great many things. I need your cleverness, intelligence and insight now more than ever.
Yesterday, I delivered a manuscript to my editor at Houghton-Mifflin. Sometime in 2018, this manuscript will become a book. What it needs is a title!
The book is a compendium of puzzles and brain teasers designed to teach lessons about economics, statistical inference, and related matters. A recurring theme is that what’s “obvious” is often wrong. Here is a brief excerpt from the introduction.
The title should be catchy, clever, attention-grabbing and indicative of the content. What, specifically, should that title be?
Enticing Enigmas of Economics
In the Shadows of the Lamppost
Econundrums
Well, obviously!
Beyond The Obvious
The Big Questions Quiz: Tackling the Problems of Life with Puzzles While Learning Some Economics and Math
Economic Mind Fucks
Uncommon Century
Clever, but wrong.
Puzzlenomics (à la Freakonomics). The Puzzling Economist. Many books use the title of one of the puzzles or essays (Why do clocks run clockwise, etc.), so maybe post your table of contents here so we can pick the one that grabs our attention.
Twisted Thinking
cover photo: Star Drop
from http://www.thebigquestions.com/2011/05/09/star-drop/
possible subtitle: Challenging the Obvious with Puzzling Perspectives
Broken Windows and Negative Railroads: Puzzles of the Seen and the Unseen
Title: Obviously?
Sub-title: If it’s obvious, it’s probably wrong
“The Goat Behind the Door”. Assuming that’s one of the puzzles. Otherwise, I got nothing.
Intellectual Jigsaw Nuzzle
I’m tempted to suggest “WRONGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”. But maybe “Broken Intuition” would be better
I second Lawrence’s suggestion of using one specific puzzle’s name. That probably gives potential readers the clearest suggestion what they’re buying.
I think I’d go with “Beyond Obvious”. “Beyond THE Obvious” is too straightforward for a fun-puzzles thing, imo, and the phrase “Beyond Obvious” is open to multiple interpretations.
Title: Obviously Not!
(Alternative Title: Obviously Knot)
Subtitle: Puzzling Lessons in Economics
Not SO obvious!
“On second thought(s)”
Title : Endonomics
Subtitle : Cogito, ergo video
Alternate subtitle : Insight through introspection
I’m not sure “video” is the correct Latin for “I see”.
What you know that isn’t so
“The Great Puzzles of Economics” or variations getting rid of “great” and/or “the”.
Do you have a puzzle that has (or could have) a name as evocative as “More Sex is Safer Sex”? If so, then that.
Uncommon Sense: where intuition fails.
Think again
Economical delusions
Economical ilusions
Economics behind the scenes
Economic scene investigation
If I come up with something better, I will let you know.
PS By the way, “The Armchair Economist” (Portuguese translation: o Economista de Sofá) is one of the book that I recommend to my PolSci students.
“Being Wrong is Fun”
Alternatively, “Lubos was Wrong”.
“What’s “obvious” is often wrong.”
But otherwise this: “maybe post your table of contents here so we can pick the one that grabs our attention.”
“On Day 100, Something Awful Happens”
Well, that depends on a certain puzzle being included.
“Unfair Play”
“Unexpected Values”
I was going to try to think of my own suggestion, but I can’t think of one better than 26.
“Nope! A Non-Obvious Puzzle Ensemble” by Steven Landsburg
“Common Sense tells you the world is flat”
“Tragedy of the common sense”
“What you know isn’t so”
“Brain Ache”
“That’s obvious, Mr. Steve”
Something along the lines of no-brainer, e.g. yes-brainer, real brainer, whole brainer, etc.
Homo Puzzle-us
Sounds very cool and Smullyanesque. Doubt you’ll top “What is the Name of this Book” for a title, but I second, third or fourth those that suggest you use the name of one of the puzzles.
I assume you don’t have a pet name for puzzles in your classroom.
A more specific theme than “what’s obvious ain’t” might be helpful, ala Kling’s “price discrimination explains everything.”
With the little you’ve given, you’re probably going to end up with a lot of econ puns which may top out at serviceable.
Do miss your blog, but this book sounds great and such puzzles were one of the highlights of it. I’ll buy the thing whatever you call it.
“The book is a compendium of puzzles and brain teasers designed to teach lessons about economics, statistical inference, and related matters. A recurring theme is that what’s “obvious” is often wrong.”
Every item, in any retail store, is priced such that every
party in the production and delivery path gets a cut; manuf’r,
distributor, retailer. That bottle of shampoo cost $2.50 to
make, the mark-up to $4 represents the profit everyone will
take, if you buy.
If they’re making money, logic says that you are taking a
loss… on every purchase. Because you’re over-paying, above
the true value. Therefore, the only way to protect yourself,
as a consumer, is never to buy anything! You make no profit,
break-even is the best you can do.
Isn’t it obvious?
Teens and Young Adults?
“Well…Actually…It Works Like This”
“Amazingly Fun Facts and Games about Economics”
“The Economics IQ Builder”
“The Economical IQ Builder”
“Puzzling with Economics”
Thinking Games
How about last sentence of the intro- “Why puzzles are fun and economics is important”.
That’s Peculiar
An Economist, a Priest, and a Philosopher Walk into a Bar… and Other Puzzles to Make your Head Hurt.
Beancounterintuitive
“Restating the Obvious”
This one is a bit of the wall
Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered:
The puzzles of being rational
There’s No Such Thing as a Free Puzzle
Not that it’s any help but the very best economics book title ever was
The Invisible Hook: The Hidden Economics of Pirates
by Peter Leeson
I tried playing around with the parameters on this bit of genius, but the best I came up with is
Hiding in Plain Sight: the hidden puzzles of economics
but it might jog someone’s creativity.
Think Again
Riddle Me This
The Man Who Can’t Be Taxed :)
#3 (Econundrums) clever
Correct Answers to Simple Questions
Obvious Conundrums
The secrets the fat cats on Wall Street don’t want you to know.
Or just
Obvious Conundrums
“What is the price of this book?”
Reality is Unreal
How ’bout “Obvious … but Wrong”?
You could channel Mencken and call it “Neat, Plausible, and Wrong.”
Uncommon Sense is good, but also a little worn. For what it is worth, I find the presence of “and other” a turn-off, in title or sub-title.
Small Questions: Puzzles about the world
Solving the World: Economics and other puzzles
Simple Questions With Complex Answers
I came here to add another vote for a title based around the theme of one of the puzzles. Some of the better books in this sort of genre have titles along these lines (More Sex is Safer Sex; Why Does Popcorn Cost So Much at the Movies? by William Poundstone.) and I think it really works to communicate the idea of the book.
But I do like ‘Small Questions’…
If you’re feeling it is really good:
“Martin Gardner Would Have Liked This”
BTW, I’m hoping some day someone calculates a new important value and calls it the Gardner Constant.
The obvious is often wrong: puzzles in economics, math,physics, and philosophy.
“That Which Is Not Obvious.”
To intuition…and beyond.
“The Moose is Furious” Alternate: “You Know the Solomons”
Subtitle: Puzzles to Obviate the Obvious
Thinking Strategies
Economic Mind Fucks is my vote too