The Lifecycle of Software Objects
The Lifecycle of Software Objects by Ted Chiangby Ted Chiang
Ranked 3 of 5 science fiction novellas by recommenders
Recommended as a compelling story whose themes feel timely given current AI progress. Critics find it long and slow, and some do not sympathize with its main character.
Recommended as a compelling story whose themes feel timely given current AI progress. Critics find it long and slow, and some do not sympathize with its main character.
9 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- criticize it
- 3
- approval share
- 67%
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: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, 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
Relevant to current AI developments
“It's such a good story that one. Feels incredibly relevant and timely today.”
Comment from 2 Dec 2025 in “Claude 4.5 Opus’ Soul Document” “There's a fantastic 2010 Ted Chiang story exploring just that”
Comment from 2 Dec 2025 in “Claude 4.5 Opus’ Soul Document” “is an interesting read in light of AI advancement”
Comment from 7 Oct 2026 in “The Mathocalypse” Good, compelling story
“It's such a good story that one. Feels incredibly relevant and timely today.”
Comment from 2 Dec 2025 in “Claude 4.5 Opus’ Soul Document” “"The Life Cycle of Software Objects" is especially compelling.”
Comment from 3 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What fiction books would you recommend for programmers?”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Long, slow, and boring
“It is far too long and I thought there was some value in it, but it was a slog”
Comment from 4 Dec 2025 in “Claude 4.5 Opus’ Soul Document” “I found this story incredibly boring and difficult to get through”
Comment from 2 Dec 2025 in “Claude 4.5 Opus’ Soul Document” Main character is unsympathetic
“I did not sympathize with the main character in that story at all”
Comment from 7 Feb 2026 in “Moltbook was peak AI theater”
Other science fiction novellas people recommend
The four most recommended other science fiction novellas, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mannaby Marshall Brain | 28 | 3 | 90% | 11 | — | Approved |
| Prime Intellectby Roger Williams | 9 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| The Lifecycle of Software Objectsby Ted ChiangThis page | 6 | 3 | 67% | 3 | — | — |
| Monk and Robotby Becky Chambers | 4 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| Malakby Peter Watts | 3 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
7 of the 9 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“is an interesting read in light of AI advancement”
“I did not sympathize with the main character in that story at all”
“It is far too long and I thought there was some value in it, but it was a slog”
“"The Life Cycle of Software Objects" is especially compelling.”
“I found this story incredibly boring and difficult to get through”
“It's such a good story that one. Feels incredibly relevant and timely today.”
“There's a fantastic 2010 Ted Chiang story exploring just that”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.