The Feeling of Power
The Feeling of Power by Isaac Asimovby Isaac Asimov
Shares rank 8 of 32 short stories by recommenders
People recommend this short story for its prediction of a society that has lost the ability to do its own calculations, and it stays with readers long after they finish it.
People recommend this short story for its prediction of a society that has lost the ability to do its own calculations, and it stays with readers long after they finish it.
9 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 9
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: 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.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 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
Predicts today's reliance on technology
“Both are social dramas about societies that went far down the path of ignorance.”
Comment from 5 Apr 2026 in “The threat is comfortable drift toward not understanding what you're doing” “it is a treat predicting this trend from the 1950s”
Comment from 5 Sep 2026 in “Mamdani bans AI in NYC schools” “reminded more of (and scared by)”
Comment from 24 May 2026 in “Air France and Airbus found guilty of manslaughter over 2009 plane crash” Stays with readers long after
“I still think about it, often.”
Comment from 1 Feb 2026 in “My thousand dollar iPhone can't do math” “it's very much an old friend”
Comment from 17 Apr 2026 in “The Feeling of Power – Isaac Asimov” Works well as a short story
“You could probably make a pretty good short story out of that scenario”
Comment from 16 Feb 2026 in “I want to wash my car. The car wash is 50 meters away. Should I walk or drive?” “it didn't really "land" properly until I read the short story”
Comment from 19 Jul 2026 in “Mathematicians still don't know the fastest way to multiply numbers”
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 Feeling of Powerby Isaac AsimovThis page | 9 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
9 of the 10 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“it is a treat predicting this trend from the 1950s”
“it didn't really "land" properly until I read the short story”
“reminded more of (and scared by)”
“it's very much an old friend”
“Both are social dramas about societies that went far down the path of ignorance.”
“Webpage of the text without the intro paragraph”
“Thanks, I enjoyed reading that!”
“You could probably make a pretty good short story out of that scenario”
“I still think about it, often.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.