John Galbraith's Conventional Wisdom

1. In chapter three, drug dealers living with their moms, the main argument is brought into light by economist, John Kenneth Galbraith. He makes the statement that “We associate truth with convenience” (86) and composes the phrase “conventional wisdom”(86). This phrase is the author's main line of reasoning, and it paves the way for the main argument; that individuals are easily able to manipulate information and statistics, for the incentive of better benefiting themselves. If certain information sounds valid, the public will usually, not question or doubt the information because it is socially impolite to question. 2. The argument is introduced at the beginning of chapter three when John Kenneth Galbraith produces the phrase “conventional wisdom” (86). He says that people are instinctively drawn to manipulate statistical information in order to conveniently benefit themselves. The introduction to chapter three is effective and grabs a reader's attention because it asks prospective questions, causing one to do a double take. The authors says “If you can question something that people really care about and find and answer that may surprise them- that is, if you can overturn the conventional

In the 1980’s advocate for the homeless, Mitch Snyder, claimed that of the 3 million homeless Americans “ 45 homeless people die each second - which would mean a whopping 1.4 billion dead homeless every year” (86). The best argument made by the authors is that Synder most likely misspoke and “ meant to say that one homeless person died every forty-five seconds, that's still 701,000 dead homeless people every year” (86). Snyder's figure of 3 million homeless Americans was a mere fabrication. His math proved and estimate proved to be completely misdirected.The counter arguments hurt Synder by making him look like a less reliable source. In the end Synder said had been hounded by journalist “for a specific number… and he hadn’t wanted them to walk away empty-handed”