What Is Conventional Wisdom In Stephen J. Dubner's Freakonomics

In Freakonomics, Stephen D Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner’s purpose was to make the reader susceptible to the idea that there is a concealed yet obvious side of everything, if delved into enough. This purpose is useful in uncovering the conventional wisdom, a phrase coined by economist John Kenneth Galbraith. According to him, he believed that conventional wisdom “ must be simple, convenient, comfortable, and comforting - though not necessarily true”(Levitt and Dubner 86). But, what if someone wanted to know if some conventional wisdom is true? Therefore, delving into the hidden sides of conventional wisdom is necessary, which is exemplified with the peculiar issue drug dealers living with their moms and becoming rich.
In the 1990s, crack dealing was becoming a huge problem, in that most of its(crack) dealers were rich. In
fact, this issue got serious when “ the media eagerly glommed on to this story, portraying crack dealing as one of the most profitable jobs in America”(Levitt and Dubner 89). However, most of the dealers were also living with their moms. With these doubts, one needs the right data and the right person to find it. Sudhir Venkatesh, who was sent by his prominent professor to visit Chicago’s poorest black neighborhoods, had to give surveys to their residents. After Sudhir got all the surveys and other records, he and his assistant, the author, compiled information about the hierarchy, financial dealings, and operations of crack dealers. This shows that very few people would ever question the fact that all crack dealers are rich With this new information, one must re-think and argue as to which side should be trusted; conventional wisdom always has one stance, but there are lurking stances that can have an effect on it. With the bulk of information that Sid was able to gather, it helped several economists analyze and reveal the hidden side of the wealth of crack dealers, proving that, for example, not all of them are wealthy.
This process of refuting conventional wisdom is followed by UN Reno economist, Bradley R.
Schiller, who debunked the fact that many families depend on income from minimum wage jobs. According to his National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, which looked at employment and income data individuals aged from 33 to 50 from a certain period when the minimum wage was $5.15, “about half (47 percent) had a spouse earning more than $40,000 a year, an additional 16 percent had a spouse earning $30,000 to $40,000 a year, and, an additional 12 percent had a spouse earning $20,000 to $30,000 a year. Although it’s ironic that experts often create conventional wisdom, in this case, it is true that this expert doesn’t. The primary reason is that he has conducted an in-depth study which covered almost all age groups and accumulated several facts. Even though he is an expert, he has a lot of evidence to refute popular claim about minimum wage jobs.
The next time someone observes something that has been popular, make sure it has been approved by experts and is verified with several facts and observations; if not, one should question the verifiability of the
wisdom.