Reading the Culture: Hand washing and elephants

Why should suicide bombers buy life insurance to escape detection by authorities? Because would-be terrorists are disproportionately unlikely to do so, since insurance companies don’t pay out if the policyholder commits suicide.

Such odd conclusions dominate Superfreakonomics, the sequel to the 2005 bestseller, Freakonomics. University of Chicago economist Steven D. Levitt and New York Times journalist Stephen J. Dubner wrote both. The first sold more than 4 million copies in 35 languages; the sequel has been no less controversial or successful. When I was traveling in China recently, a business executive gave me a copy.

Jim Denison

Here is some of what I discovered:

• There are an average of 5.9 shark attack fatalities per year, while elephants kill at least 200 people annually. But until Tusks replaces Jaws in movie lore, we’ll be terrified of sharks and amused by elephants.

• High achievers in any field are those who set specific goals, obtain immediate feedback on their performance and concentrate on technique as much as outcome. Experts are made, not born.

• If more than one second elapses between clicking your computer’s mouse and seeing new data on the screen, your mind will wander. This phenomenon is called “cognitive drift.”

• A study of more than 2,800 elderly Christians and Jews found they were more likely to die in the 30 days after their major religious holidays than in the 30 days before. Hope can help keep you alive.

• As heart disease treatments have become more effective, many who would have died from heart attacks now live long enough to die of cancer instead. Death still is inevitable.

• In 1847, three times more new mothers and babies died in hospitals when treated by doctors than when cared for by midwives. A physician finally discovered the reason. In those days before germ theory was widely accepted, physicians often performed autopsies and then visited mothers without first washing their hands. Mom was right. Hand washing saves lives.

• In 18th-century America, 19 out of 20 workers were employed in agriculture. Two centuries later, the number had dropped to 1 in 20. One major reason: ammonium nitrate, a very cheap and effective crop fertilizer.

• Without a polio vaccine, America would be spending at least $30 billion a year to treat 250,000 long-term polio patients. The addition of fluoride to water systems has conserved $10 billion annually in dental bills. Seat belts have saved 250,000 lives since 1975. It’s easy to take progress for granted.

“God is in the details,” said Gustave Flaubert. Our Father knew everything I learned in Superfreakonomics before I learned it. In fact, “his understanding has no limit” (Psalm 147:5). What’s more, “The Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts” (1 Chronicles 28:9). Hannah warned us, “The Lord is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed” (1 Samuel 2:3). Jesus agreed, saying, “God knows your hearts” (Luke 16:15).

He is reading your heart as you read these words. Is that fact good news for you today?

Jim Denison is president of the Center for Informed Faith (www.informedfaith.com) and theologian-in-residence with the Baptist General Convention of Texas.