The Evolution of Human Science
The Evolution of Human Science by Ted Chiangby Ted Chiang
Shares rank 15 of 32 short stories by recommenders
A short Ted Chiang story that people find prescient, showing answers and technologies arriving without understanding, which they see as relevant to the current age.
A short Ted Chiang story that people find prescient, showing answers and technologies arriving without understanding, which they see as relevant to the current age.
5 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not 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: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not 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
Prescient and relevant to today
“I think it can be an interesting or even prominent read in the current age.”
Comment from 12 Sep 2026 in “The Evolution of Human Science (2000)” “Very prescient for something written 26 years ago.”
Comment from 7 Oct 2026 in “The Mathocalypse” Answers arrive without understanding
“In "Evolution", answers (and only answers) and technologies arrive pre-packaged, with zero understanding.”
Comment from 10 Oct 2026 in “AI Is Throwing a Roadside Picnic” Very short, quick read
“I just finished a very short story by Ted Chiang”
Comment from 18 Oct 2026 in “How employment is changing at Anthropic”
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 Evolution of Human Scienceby Ted ChiangThis page | 5 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
4 of the 6 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I just finished a very short story by Ted Chiang”
“In "Evolution", answers (and only answers) and technologies arrive pre-packaged, with zero understanding.”
“Very prescient for something written 26 years ago.”
“I think it can be an interesting or even prominent read in the current age.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.