The Elephant in the Brain
The Elephant in the Brain by Kevin Simler and Robin Hansonby Kevin Simler and Robin Hanson
Shares rank 65 of 152 nonfiction books by recommenders
People recommend it for explaining how humans evolved to deceive themselves about their true motives, and for changing how readers see everyday behavior.
People recommend it for explaining how humans evolved to deceive themselves about their true motives, and for changing how readers see everyday behavior.
4 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 4
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not 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
- 4 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 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
Explains hidden motives behind everyday behavior
“Recommend this book about how we have evolved to deceive ourselves about our true motives”
Comment from 18 Nov 2025 in “My stages of learning to be a socially normal person” Changed how a reader thinks
“I learned this from "The Elephant in the Brain", which I strongly recommend”
Comment from 9 Sep 2026 in “Claude, change the “Add to Cart” button to blue” Impressed a reader this year
“this year two impressed me”
Comment from 26 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?”
Other nonfiction books people recommend
The four most recommended other nonfiction 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Cuckoo's Eggby Clifford Stoll | 40 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Amusing Ourselves to Deathby Neil Postman | 36 | 0 | 100% | 9 | 1 yr3 owners | Approved |
| The Anxious Generationby Jonathan Haidt | 24 | 12 | 67% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Bullshit Jobsby David Graeber | 20 | 12 | 63% | 8 | — | — |
| The Elephant in the Brainby Kevin Simler and Robin HansonThis page | 4 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
All 4 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I learned this from "The Elephant in the Brain", which I strongly recommend”
“See the book "The elephant in the brain".”
“this year two impressed me”
“Recommend this book about how we have evolved to deceive ourselves about our true motives”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.