Hackers and Painters
Hackers and Painters by Paul Grahamby Paul Graham
Shares rank 5 of 10 essay collections by recommenders
Short, easy-to-dip-into essays on programming and art that readers say sharpened their thinking. Critics say parts of it are dated and weak on art.
Short, easy-to-dip-into essays on programming and art that readers say sharpened their thinking. Critics say parts of it are dated and weak on art.
7 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 4
- criticize it
- 3
- approval share
- 57%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: 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.
- 1.3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 3 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
Writes about things he understood
“he wrote about things he understood”
Comment from 14 Jun 2026 in “How to Earn a Billion Dollars” Short essays, easy to dip into
“It's short essays, easy to pick and put down, I've learned or solidified some of my knowledge tremendously”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” Solidifies existing knowledge
“It's short essays, easy to pick and put down, I've learned or solidified some of my knowledge tremendously”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” Credited with preventing leftist radicalization
“it single-handedly prevented me from being radicalized by leftist ideologies”
Comment from 14 Jun 2026 in “How to Earn a Billion Dollars”
Other essay collections people recommend
The four most recommended other essay collections, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slouching Towards Bethlehemby Joan Didion | 8 | 1 | 89% | 3 | — | — |
| Why I Writeby George Orwell | 6 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Letters to a Young Poetby Rainer Maria Rilke | 5 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| Paul Graham essays | 5 | 7 | 42% | 3 | — | — |
| Hackers and Paintersby Paul GrahamThis page | 4 | 3 | 57% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
All 7 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“It's short essays, easy to pick and put down, I've learned or solidified some of my knowledge tremendously”
“They don't prevent radicalization; they redirect it from class analysis to techno-libertarianism.”
“it single-handedly prevented me from being radicalized by leftist ideologies”
“he wrote about things he understood”
“contains some pretty bad predictions and takes on programming”
“well meaning but disconnected from many conversations on art”
“If you read Hackers and Painters without realizing you're getting conned, yes. Very much so.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.