Hard not to read this as, "because some old guard economists don't like fun things."
I am not overly fond of some of the ideas in freakonomics, but I can't deny the fun of looking at things and trying to tease out explanations. If anything, I would want to laud getting people to even try replication at a good thing. I fear if we only enjoy the flawless replications, we set a bit too high of a bar.
Freakonomics is actually covered in some college econ textbooks (usually as an aside that reinforces a core concept). It's hard to say which one as I've gone through like 7 so far in the program I'm doing. Most of the textbooks I've read have been VERY "cool" and approachable with a decent amount of humor from the authors.
I am not overly fond of some of the ideas in freakonomics, but I can't deny the fun of looking at things and trying to tease out explanations. If anything, I would want to laud getting people to even try replication at a good thing. I fear if we only enjoy the flawless replications, we set a bit too high of a bar.