# The Fall of the Theorem Economy by David Bessis

6 Hacker News commenters recommended The Fall of the Theorem Economy by David Bessis and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Readers call it an insightful essay on how mathematical progress may change, worth reading despite its length. Critics say it is far longer than needed.

## Why people recommend it

- Insightful, interesting essay worth reading (3 comments): "There is a long and interesting recent essay on that topic by a mathematician" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48213440)) "that was one of the most insightful long form pieces I've read in a long time" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48215497)) "It's worth a read, even if it's long AF." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49091641))
- Thoughtful view of mathematical innovation (2 comments): "solving a big conjecture was a cryptographic proof that you had come up with a genuine conceptual innovation" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48213581)) "has the best thoughts on this since Thurston" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50013750))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Programming as Theory Building by Peter Naur](https://hackerapproved.com/p/programming-as-theory-building.md): 32 recommend
- [Ur-Fascism by Umberto Eco](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ur-fascism.md): 18 recommend
- [Politics and the English Language by George Orwell](https://hackerapproved.com/p/politics-and-the-english-language.md): 14 recommend
- [Right to Read by Richard Stallman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/right-to-read.md): 12 recommend
- [Meditations on Moloch by Scott Alexander](https://hackerapproved.com/p/meditations-on-moloch.md): 11 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "The Fall of the Theorem Economy by David Bessis", https://hackerapproved.com/p/fall-of-the-theorem/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).