Construction Physics by Brian Potter
Shares rank 10 of 26 newsletters by recommenders
People recommend it for detailed, well-researched deep dives on construction, infrastructure, housing and industrial topics, from ports to drywall.
People recommend it for detailed, well-researched deep dives on construction, infrastructure, housing and industrial topics, from ports to drywall.
9 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 8
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 89%
Recommended in 8 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 8 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 8 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 8 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
Detailed deep dives on many topics
“Well worth your time if you are interested in a more detailed discussion”
Comment from 17 Sep 2026 in “The engineering behind the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve” “This blog post is the best deep dive I've seen on the data”
Comment from 23 Jun 2026 in “The Deadly Rise of Giant Trucks and S.U.V.s” “For a more informed deep dive into data center water usage”
Comment from 1 May 2026 in “AI Uses Less Water Than the Public Thinks” - Comment from 26 May 2026 in “Uber, Lyft drivers in Massachusetts form first US ride-share union”
Thorough writing on industry and infrastructure
“Construction Physics has done an excellent series of write-ups on the technological leaps America shipyards didn’t have to invest in”
Comment from 12 Mar 2026 in “U.S. to suspend the Jones Act in a bid to curb oil prices” “an excellent read on US port automation”
Comment from 26 May 2026 in “Uber, Lyft drivers in Massachusetts form first US ride-share union” Useful on housing and data centers
“For a more informed deep dive into data center water usage”
Comment from 1 May 2026 in “AI Uses Less Water Than the Public Thinks” “had a number of interesting article on the housing market”
Comment from 30 Jul 2026 in “Starter Homes Are Piling Up While Luxury Homes Fly Off the Market”
Other newsletters people recommend
The four most recommended other newsletters, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ed Zitron newsletter | 46 | 42 | 52% | 12 | — | — |
| Simon Willison's blog | 21 | 2 | 91% | 9 | — | Approved |
| SemiAnalysis | 20 | 12 | 63% | 8 | — | — |
| acoup.blog | 19 | 0 | 100% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Construction Physics by Brian PotterThis page | 8 | 1 | 89% | 8 | — | — |
What people said
9 of the 10 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Well worth your time if you are interested in a more detailed discussion”
“Construction Physics [1] and Hank Green [2] have done good takes.”
“had a number of interesting article on the housing market”
“This blog post is the best deep dive I've seen on the data”
“an excellent read on US port automation”
“For a more informed deep dive into data center water usage”
“Construction Physics has done an excellent series of write-ups on the technological leaps America shipyards didn’t have to invest in”
“If you're interested in this kind of material, I'd recommend checking out Construction Physics by Brian Potter.”
“based on data from a substack post with a major retraction”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.