The Master and His Emissary
The Master and His Emissary by Iain McGilchristby Iain McGilchrist
Shares rank 129 of 152 nonfiction books by recommenders
Two commenters recommend it for its fascinating ideas, and one considers it the missing idea for AI.
Two commenters recommend it for its fascinating ideas, and one considers it the missing idea for AI.
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
Seen as missing idea for AI
“I think the missing idea for AI is in Iain McGilchrist's The Master and His Emissary.”
Comment from 3 Sep 2026 in “LLMs and self-referentiality” Central idea found fascinating
“I find McGilchrist's idea actually fascinating.”
Comment from 22 May 2026 in “The Bicameral Mind, the Voice of God, & the Terrifying Origin of Consciousness”
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 Clifford 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 Master and His Emissaryby Iain McGilchristThis page | 2 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
All 2 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I think the missing idea for AI is in Iain McGilchrist's The Master and His Emissary.”
“I find McGilchrist's idea actually fascinating.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.