The Human Use of Human Beings
The Human Use of Human Beings by Norbert Wienerby Norbert Wiener
Shares rank 129 of 152 nonfiction books by recommenders
Recommended as a thoughtful examination of automation and human augmentation from cybernetics pioneer Norbert Wiener.
Recommended as a thoughtful examination of automation and human augmentation from cybernetics pioneer Norbert Wiener.
2 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 2
- 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: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not 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
- 2 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
Examines automation and human augmentation
“covers a lot of the same plus more examination of automation and human augmentation”
Comment from 25 May 2026 in “Magnifica Humanitas (Encyclical Letter)” Good companion to his Cybernetics
“His The Human Use of Human beings and Cybernetics are extremely good too”
Comment from 25 May 2026 in “Magnifica Humanitas (Encyclical Letter)”
Other nonfiction books people recommend
The four most recommended other nonfiction 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Cuckoo's Eggby Cliff Stoll | 40 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Amusing Ourselves to Deathby Neil Postman | 36 | 0 | 100% | 9 | 1 yr3 owners | Approved |
| The Anxious Generationby Jonathan Haidt | 24 | 12 | 67% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Bullshit Jobsby David Graeber | 20 | 12 | 63% | 8 | — | — |
| The Human Use of Human Beingsby Norbert WienerThis page | 2 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
2 of the 3 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“covers a lot of the same plus more examination of automation and human augmentation”
“His The Human Use of Human beings and Cybernetics are extremely good too”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.