How Not to Study a Disease
How Not to Study a Disease by Karl Herrupby Karl Herrup
Shares rank 33 of 50 popular science books by recommenders
Readers recommend it as a well-argued, readable account of why Alzheimer's research has made little progress, and say it is really good.
Readers recommend it as a well-argued, readable account of why Alzheimer's research has made little progress, and say it is really good.
3 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 3
- 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: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 3 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
Contrarian argument some readers find convincing
“He did not win many friends but I think he is right.”
Comment from 26 Apr 2026 in “Why Has There Been So Little Progress on Alzheimer's Disease?” Called a great and really good read
“I'm now about half way through. It's really good.”
Comment from 1 May 2026 in “Why Has There Been So Little Progress on Alzheimer's Disease?” “This is a great read about the reasons why”
Comment from 26 Apr 2026 in “Why Has There Been So Little Progress on Alzheimer's Disease?” Explains reasons for slow progress
“This is a great read about the reasons why”
Comment from 26 Apr 2026 in “Why Has There Been So Little Progress on Alzheimer's Disease?”
Other popular science books people recommend
The four most recommended other popular science 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gödel, Escher, Bachby Douglas Hofstadter | 47 | 10 | 82% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Thinking, Fast and Slowby Daniel Kahneman | 17 | 13 | 57% | 9 | — | — |
| Thinking in Systemsby Donella Meadows | 17 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| The Selfish Geneby Richard Dawkins | 14 | 5 | 74% | 8 | — | Approved |
| How Not to Study a Diseaseby Karl HerrupThis page | 3 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
All 3 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I'm now about half way through. It's really good.”
“This is a great read about the reasons why”
“He did not win many friends but I think he is right.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.