In a sold-out event, over 800 students, faculty and members of the community gathered Tuesday night to hear journalist and author Stephen Dubner apply economic analysis to many unique social phenomenon.

Dubner explored the “Hidden Side of Everything” as he shared stories from the anticipated sequel to his New York Times best-seller, “Freakonomics.”

“It’s all about incentives and how people respond to them,” said Dubner throughout the night, as he explored several historical events.

Using examples such as the decline in student test scores during the 20th century and hospitals’ concern of hand washing hygiene, Dubner reminded the audience that though behavior change is beneficial to society, that type of change is the hardest to come by.

Instead, Dubner reasoned that it was “technology that always came to solve those problems.”

A journalist by trait, Dubner explained how he partnered with economist Steven Levitt in order to “tell stories” instead of explain economics in technical and erudite terms.

“The language of economics is sometimes bland and boring,” joked Dubner during his lecture. Instead, he relayed anecdotal references in order to explain concepts such as negative externalities and utility maximization.

“We thought he would be a very interesting speaker for the university,” said senior Nick Williams, a member of the Vanderbilt Speakers Committee. “He also is in a good position, because of the economy, to talk to about real time events that are happening right now.”

“Basically, he taught us to think outside the box if we want to enact change,” said sophomore Quentin Harmon. “Overall, it was a very interesting lecture.”