Cosmos
Cosmos by Carl Saganby Carl Sagan
Hacker ApprovedRanked 5 of 50 popular science books by recommenders
Recommended for making the universe vivid and accessible in both book and TV form, though one critic calls it popular rather than scientific.
Recommended for making the universe vivid and accessible in both book and TV form, though one critic calls it popular rather than scientific.
14 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 13
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 93%
Recommended in 9 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 13 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 13 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 9 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
Inspires passion for learning
“Sagan ignited my passion for learning and made me realise I a rare ability to understand complicated things visually.”
Comment from 16 Jun 2026 in “Calvin and Hobbes and the Price of Integrity” “that book was a life changer for me and has been with me ever since”
Comment from 21 Jul 2026 in “Ask HN: Favourite science history book of the 20th century?” Educates the public about the cosmos
“There however definitely was a piece of media that captured public minds and educated them about the cosmos.”
Comment from 4 Jul 2026 in “Astrophysicists Puzzle over Webb's New Universe” “the marvelous Cosmos documentary”
Comment from 11 Apr 2026 in “How Passive Radar Works” Stunning visuals with emotional impact
“I watch Cosmos (original or 2.0) and I get goosebumps.”
Comment from 12 Jan 2026 in “"Scholars Will Call It Nonsense" the Structure of Erich von Däniken's Argument” “Cosmos is seriously gorgeous”
Comment from 12 Feb 2026 in “Carl Sagan's Baloney Detection Kit: Tools for Thinking Critically (2025)” Widely praised as amazing
“"Cosmos", in all of its incarnations, is amazing.”
Comment from 6 May 2026 in “I'm Scared About Biological Computing” “which I'd highly recommend, BTW”
Comment from 22 Dec 2025 on Hacker News “Carl Sagan is an amazing author”
Comment from 24 Apr 2026 in “Why Not Venus?”
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 Hofstadter | 47 | 10 | 82% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Thinking, Fast and Slowby Daniel Kahneman | 17 | 13 | 57% | 9 | — | — |
| Thinking in Systemsby Donella Meadows | 17 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| The Selfish Geneby Richard Dawkins | 14 | 5 | 74% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Cosmosby Carl SaganThis page | 13 | 1 | 93% | 9 | — | Approved |
What people said
15 of the 17 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I'll just list them while saying that they all come highly recommended by me.”
“that book was a life changer for me and has been with me ever since”
“There however definitely was a piece of media that captured public minds and educated them about the cosmos.”
“Sagan ignited my passion for learning and made me realise I a rare ability to understand complicated things visually.”
“If you haven't watched Cosmos in awhile it might hit a little different these days”
“The late 1970's were the golden age of documentaries”
“"Cosmos", in all of its incarnations, is amazing.”
“Not really scientific books at all. He is popular because he was hyped in the media for being accessible.”
“Carl Sagan is an amazing author”
“the marvelous Cosmos documentary”
“It was actually pretty cool technology.”
“Cosmos is seriously gorgeous”
“I would advice to start your Gemini journey by reading links on Antenna and Cosmos”
“I watch Cosmos (original or 2.0) and I get goosebumps.”
“which I'd highly recommend, BTW”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.