# The Dead Past by Isaac Asimov

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/dead-past/

3 people recommended The Dead Past by Isaac Asimov in Hacker News comments and none criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 1 of 12 months, in 1 thread. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

3 of the 3 people who recommend it commented in one thread, “Profession by Isaac Asimov”.

**Verdict:** Recommended by Hacker News readers as a worthwhile Asimov read, with its idea of lost privacy seen as relevant today.

Summary written by Claude from 3 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- Relevant to HN discussions (1 comment in the sample): "similarly relevant to much of what is discussed on HN for similar reasons" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46668814))
- Lost privacy idea feels current (1 comment in the sample): "the idea of lost privacy is relevant today" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46674408))
- Recommended as worth checking out (1 comment in the sample): "Do check out "The Dead Past" as well" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46671371))

## Other science fiction novels people recommend

- [Blindsight by Peter Watts](https://hackerapproved.com/p/blindsight/): 78 recommend, 18 mixed, 23 criticize
- [Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky](https://hackerapproved.com/p/children-of-time/): 64 recommend, 1 mixed, 4 criticize
- [Accelerando by Charles Stross](https://hackerapproved.com/p/accelerando/): 63 recommend, 7 mixed, 8 criticize
- [There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm](https://hackerapproved.com/p/there-is-no-antimemetics-division/): 57 recommend, 34 mixed, 28 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "The Dead Past by Isaac Asimov", https://hackerapproved.com/p/dead-past/ (3 recommend, 0 mixed, 0 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.