Brain Energy
Brain Energy by Chris Palmerby Christopher M. Palmer
Shares rank 47 of 50 popular science books by recommenders
Recommended by readers who found its brain energy theory of mental illness, including depression, compelling and sensible.
Recommended by readers who found its brain energy theory of mental illness, including depression, compelling and sensible.
2 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 2
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 2 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
Compelling theory of depression
“I recently read a book about "The brain energy theory of mental illnesses" which encapsulates depression and found it pretty compelling.”
Comment from 28 Aug 2026 in “Doctors are finally learning to manage antidepressant withdrawal” Theory makes sense
“which seem to make a lot of sense”
Comment from 18 Dec 2025 in “Working quickly is more important than it seems (2015)”
Other popular science books people recommend
The four most recommended other popular science books, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gödel, Escher, Bachby Douglas R. Hofstadter | 47 | 10 | 82% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Thinking, Fast and Slowby Daniel Kahneman | 17 | 13 | 57% | 9 | — | — |
| Thinking in Systemsby Donella H. Meadows and Diana Wright | 17 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| The Selfish Geneby Richard Dawkins | 14 | 5 | 74% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Brain Energyby Christopher M. PalmerThis page | 2 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
All 2 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I recently read a book about "The brain energy theory of mental illnesses" which encapsulates depression and found it pretty compelling.”
“which seem to make a lot of sense”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.