Logic of Life by Tim

Logic of Life by Tim Harford

In the Logic of Life, author Tim Harford uncovered the economics behind some of the most popular issues in people's everyday lives, issues that the general public think are irrational or too complex to understand. In Logic, Harford dissected these issues and determine the possible rational explanation that could demystify these issues and put the public's understanding of these issues in the correct perspective.

This review and analysis of Logic discusses three key issues that are controversial and seemingly irrational, at least for the general public who do not have the time or knowledge to think through these issues. The issues that will be discussed in this review and analysis paper are health choices, dating (partner choices), and salary discrepancies at work. These issues are most relevant to people since they influence lives everyday in different degrees or levels. Demystifying each issue, Harford set out to explain how each issue has an economic (i.e., rational) explanation to it, recognizing the fact that more than we know or acknowledge, most people are actually making rational decisions in their lives almost everyday.

The review and analysis discussion posits that issues concerning people's health, partner choices and chances of receiving higher salaries are determined economically and involves other people and more external factors that help drive and reinforce these decisions, which are, most often, not consciously recognized as rational decisions.

One of the health issues discussed in the book is the reported prevalence of the practice of oral sex among teenagers, as reported by popular media these days. Demystifying this issue, Harford identified how this "preference" for oral sex among teenagers is actually a rational economic decision. Teenagers, in deciding to choose oral sex versus "regular" sex, thought about not only the health consequences of oral sex in terms of their susceptibility to acquire sexually-transmitted infection or HIV / AIDS, but they also took into consideration that the cost of subsisting to oral sex is much, much lower than regular sex. This decision, of course, owes to the fact that there is a lesser chance for teenagers to be infected sexually, which could incur unexpected expenses (cost of doctor consultation, tests, and medicines, among others).