Gödel's Proof
Gödel's Proof by Nagel and Newmanby Nagel and Newman
Shares rank 3 of 20 mathematics books by recommenders
Short, concise explanation of Gödel's incompleteness proofs, praised for conceptual clarity and as an easier read than GEB. One critic says its philosophical conclusions are wrong.
Short, concise explanation of Gödel's incompleteness proofs, praised for conceptual clarity and as an easier read than GEB. One critic says its philosophical conclusions are wrong.
11 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 10
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 91%
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: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 10 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 10 recommenders for every criticNeeds 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
Short and easier than GEB
“Also recommend this book. Very concise too, it's only around 100 pages.”
Comment from 14 Aug 2026 in “How Gödel's Proof Works” “is also a great and shorter read if the scale of GEB is intimidating”
Comment from 13 Aug 2026 in “How Gödel's Proof Works” “Nagel & Newman is much better if you find GEB a slog”
Comment from 13 Aug 2026 in “How Gödel's Proof Works” Clear conceptual introduction to proofs
“Nagel and Newman did a great job explaining why logic as a mechanical thing has only a tenuous relationship to concepts we understand”
Comment from 13 Aug 2026 in “How Gödel's Proof Works” “I'd recommend Gödel's Proof by Nagel and Newman for a conceptual intro.”
Comment from 13 Aug 2026 in “How Gödel's Proof Works” “a wonderful introduction to the proofs”
Comment from 13 Aug 2026 in “How Gödel's Proof Works” Engrossing, quick to read
“I found the book an absolute page turner and finished in one afternoon.”
Comment from 21 May 2026 in “What Do Gödel's Incompleteness Theorems Mean?” “I spent a month with the text, dipping into mild insanity”
Comment from 21 May 2026 in “What Do Gödel's Incompleteness Theorems Mean?”
Other mathematics books people recommend
The four most recommended other mathematics 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elements by Euclidby Oliver Byrne | 17 | 9 | 65% | 8 | — | — |
| Fermat's Last Theoremby Simon Singh | 11 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Gödel's Proofby Nagel and NewmanThis page | 10 | 1 | 91% | 2 | — | — |
| Principia Mathematicaby Whitehead and Russell | 10 | 8 | 56% | 1 | — | — |
| Mathematica: A Secret World of Intuition and Curiosityby David Bessis | 9 | 0 | 100% | 6 | — | — |
What people said
All 11 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“frankly I agree wholeheartedly with Hofstadter who seems to have a much more sophisticated understanding”
“their philosophical conclusion is almost exactly wrong”
“Also recommend this book. Very concise too, it's only around 100 pages.”
“helped me to get it at some point”
“Nagel & Newman is much better if you find GEB a slog”
“Nagel and Newman did a great job explaining why logic as a mechanical thing has only a tenuous relationship to concepts we understand”
“a wonderful introduction to the proofs”
“is also a great and shorter read if the scale of GEB is intimidating”
“I'd recommend Gödel's Proof by Nagel and Newman for a conceptual intro.”
“I found the book an absolute page turner and finished in one afternoon.”
“I spent a month with the text, dipping into mild insanity”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.