The Egg
The Egg by Andy Weirby Andy Weir
Shares rank 8 of 32 short stories by recommenders
A short philosophical story that readers call a classic and enjoy rereading, offering comfort about feeling lost. Some critics find its ideas shallow.
A short philosophical story that readers call a classic and enjoy rereading, offering comfort about feeling lost. Some critics find its ideas shallow.
12 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 9
- criticize it
- 3
- approval share
- 75%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 9 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 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
Enjoyable, classic short story
“another short story I really enjoy”
Comment from 17 Apr 2026 in “Isaac Asimov: The Last Question” “which I consider to be a classic”
Comment from 27 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” Interesting philosophical story that comforts
“It's just a cute philosophical story that exists entirely within the imagination to make us feel better and less lost.”
Comment from 21 Sep 2026 in “One-Electron Universe” “That's part of what makes it an interesting story.”
Comment from 20 Sep 2026 in “One-Electron Universe”
Other short stories people recommend
The four most recommended other short stories, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Last Questionby Isaac Asimov | 50 | 2 | 96% | 6 | 52 yrs3 owners | Approved |
| There Will Come Soft Rainsby Ray Bradbury | 27 | 3 | 90% | 4 | — | Approved |
| They're Made Out of Meatby Terry Bisson | 17 | 4 | 81% | 4 | — | Approved |
| Lenaby qntm | 16 | 0 | 100% | 7 | — | Approved |
| The Eggby Andy WeirThis page | 9 | 3 | 75% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
10 of the 12 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“It's just a cute philosophical story that exists entirely within the imagination to make us feel better and less lost.”
“I go against the grain and say that I dislike the egg. It is spiritually stupid and heretic and morally fake enlightened.”
“Amazing. So, I am most of you commenting here, and the author of this incredible short story.”
“That's part of what makes it an interesting story.”
“it really seems to justify psycho maxxing”
“another short story I really enjoy”
“this thing eats tokens. I'm currently cycling through four different claude max 20x accounts, hitting weekly limits every couple of days.”
“I want to keep this open source and provide it to everyone for free”
“The most interesting feature is that it doesn't generate struct nodes”
“which I consider to be a classic”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.