I got that same impression of HPMOR. However, I liked Freakonomics at least because I thought it was better edited or had better explanations.

If you liked Freakonomics' topics, but abhorred the self-serving style, you will love Tom Schelling's The Strategy of Conflict.

Strategy of Conflict is one of THE BEST books for ANYONE to read. Schelling is one of the guys whose job it was to do game theory when "I know that you know that I know" had nuclear annihilation at the other end if you get it wrong. He came up with the Red Telephone between the White House and the Kremlin.

As a book that is literally about negotiating your way out of terminal nuclear war, I've also found it an excellent practical guide to raising a toddler.

Indeed. Schelling constantly brings up the applications to child rearing.

I read his later books, too. They are good, but not as great.

Dude helped save us all from being flash-fried, I'll give him some slack ;-)

Some people argue mutual assured destruction brought us closer to the abyss than anything. (See Dr Strangelove.)

Schelling wrote well, I am not sure about his actual effect on policy. There were other hawks, like von Neumann, another geeks' hero.

Dr Strangelove is actually a treatise on why Smart Contracts are a terrible idea nobody should want - the plot is literally an unstoppable Smart Contract gone wrong.

This looks fascinating -- thank you for the suggestion!