The Birth and Death of JavaScript by Gary Bernhardt
Hacker ApprovedShares rank 2 of 15 conference talks by recommenders
A widely rewatched tech talk on JavaScript's history, praised for its delivery and for predictions people say still hold. Some critics say several predictions were wrong.
A widely rewatched tech talk on JavaScript's history, praised for its delivery and for predictions people say still hold. Some critics say several predictions were wrong.
13 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 11
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 85%
Recommended in 6 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 11 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 5.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 6 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, 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
Engaging, well-delivered presentation
“this is one of my most favourite talks ever, especially in the delivery aspect”
Comment from 14 Jun 2026 in “The Birth and Death of JavaScript (2014)” “it's a great example of how to give a presentation”
Comment from 20 May 2026 in “Saying Goodbye to Asm.js” Predictions still seem accurate
“it’s shocking how much of his fiction became reality.”
Comment from 20 May 2026 in “Saying Goodbye to Asm.js” “appears to be still extremely on track”
Comment from 26 Oct 2026 in “Everything” Among favourite talks ever
“this is one of my most favourite talks ever, especially in the delivery aspect”
Comment from 14 Jun 2026 in “The Birth and Death of JavaScript (2014)” “It may be the greatest tech talk of all time, for certain values of greatest.”
Comment from 20 May 2026 in “Saying Goodbye to Asm.js” “Every year I need to rewatch this talk”
Comment from 15 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: Firefox in WebAssembly”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Some predictions called wrong
“Interesting to see how many things Gary got wrong.”
Comment from 9 Feb 2026 in “UEFI Bindings for JavaScript” “did this guy make a huge mistake?”
Comment from 9 Feb 2026 in “UEFI Bindings for JavaScript”
Other conference talks people recommend
The four most recommended other conference talks, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple Made Easy by Rich Hickey | 22 | 1 | 96% | 9 | — | Approved |
| The Birth and Death of JavaScript by Gary BernhardtThis page | 11 | 2 | 85% | 6 | — | Approved |
| Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs Video Lectures | 11 | 1 | 92% | 3 | — | — |
| Wat by Gary Bernhardt | 9 | 1 | 90% | 5 | — | — |
| Porting Linux to Apple Silicon by Asahi Linux | 8 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
11 of the 13 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“appears to be still extremely on track”
“Every year I need to rewatch this talk”
“this is one of my most favourite talks ever, especially in the delivery aspect”
“That video was a major inspiration for me”
“it's a great example of how to give a presentation”
“It may be the greatest tech talk of all time, for certain values of greatest.”
“it’s shocking how much of his fiction became reality.”
“Interesting to see how many things Gary got wrong.”
“did this guy make a huge mistake?”
“I was going to post this as well!”
“it describes the history of javascript”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.