The authors of the articles propose an interesting inquiry; is life determined by one's name? With many references to the siblings, Winner and Loser, people dispute that names may determine lifestyle of the nameholder. Ironically, Loser procured a lucrative carreer as a detective, and Winner was incarcerated numerous times and was liable to a police track record.
The evidence alone can not determine the conclusion of the question, but there are many other interesting observations proposed by others. Another freakonomics reader mentioned the racial differences when determining names. The prospects of African girls receiving unique "non-white" names were increasingly common, with more than 50% chance of having a quintessential African monikers, such as Laquisha. African children that received these names were typically given by their single teen mothers of a destitute community. This observation may direct the question in to a more coherent direction, considering that because people who receive un-white names tend to be Africans born in to impoverished circumstances that does raise higher chance of becoming criminals. The idea can be succinctly summed up with the author's final quotes, "DeShawn's name is an indicator—but not a cause—of his life path."
Although Loser and Winner's profile is very limited; it is apparent that Loser may have tried harder in life than Winner. Loser had to earn enough respect through his actions to cover the damage of his name. Winner already seemed to be a success; to anyone who saw his name only. Although names may direct the person in to a certain direction, each person does have an underlying identity that can control whether or not if they will choose to follow the path led by their name.
But the prospects of a person with an interesting name to become a criminal was high, mainly because many of these people were born in to a disadvantaged lifestyle, which does raise the likelihood of becoming a criminal.
No comments:
Post a Comment