Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom
Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom by Ted Chiangby Ted Chiang
Shares rank 24 of 32 short stories by recommenders
People recommend it for its story about being drawn into alternate versions of one's own life, and for how strongly it affected some readers.
People recommend it for its story about being drawn into alternate versions of one's own life, and for how strongly it affected some readers.
3 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 3
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 3 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Explores alternate versions of one's life
“explores how people become enmeshed and addicted to alternate versions of how their life could have gone”
Comment from 8 Sep 2026 in “ChatGPT Images 2.5” Resonates with the reader's own past events
“The story made me realize the same thing about certain events in my life.”
Comment from 4 Jun 2026 in “No, Artificial Intelligence is not Conscious - Ted Chiang” Called one of the best stories read
“That was one of the best stories I ever read”
Comment from 4 Jun 2026 in “No, Artificial Intelligence is not Conscious - Ted Chiang” Altered a reader's life course
“altered the course of my life”
Comment from 3 Jun 2026 in “No, Artificial Intelligence is not Conscious - Ted Chiang”
Other short stories people recommend
The four most recommended other short stories, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Last Questionby Isaac Asimov | 50 | 2 | 96% | 6 | 52 yrs3 owners | Approved |
| There Will Come Soft Rainsby Ray Bradbury | 27 | 3 | 90% | 4 | — | Approved |
| They're Made Out of Meatby Terry Bisson | 17 | 4 | 81% | 4 | — | Approved |
| Lenaby qntm | 16 | 0 | 100% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedomby Ted ChiangThis page | 3 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
All 4 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“explores how people become enmeshed and addicted to alternate versions of how their life could have gone”
“The story made me realize the same thing about certain events in my life.”
“That was one of the best stories I ever read”
“altered the course of my life”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.