Material World
Material World by Ed Conwayby Ed Conway
Shares rank 12 of 50 popular science books by recommenders
Recommended for explaining how raw materials and mining shape modern manufacturing and technology, including the semiconductor supply chain.
Recommended for explaining how raw materials and mining shape modern manufacturing and technology, including the semiconductor supply chain.
6 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, 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
Explains how mining and materials work
“Truly fascinated story also available on audible. For anyone interested into how "things works" generally is this a must.”
Comment from 27 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” “Its a great look at how mining and material production works worldwide”
Comment from 10 Feb 2026 in “America Has a Tungsten Problem” Engaging, enjoyable story
“Truly fascinated story also available on audible. For anyone interested into how "things works" generally is this a must.”
Comment from 27 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” “I have enjoyed ... Material World”
Comment from 14 Aug 2026 in “Understanding Is the New Bottleneck”
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 R. Hofstadter | 47 | 10 | 82% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Thinking, Fast and Slowby Daniel Kahneman | 17 | 13 | 57% | 9 | — | — |
| Thinking in Systemsby Donella H. Meadows and Diana Wright | 17 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| The Selfish Geneby Richard Dawkins | 14 | 5 | 74% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Material Worldby Ed ConwayThis page | 6 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
All 6 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Material world highlights our human ingenuity with an optimism for the future”
“I have enjoyed ... Material World”
“the semiconductor bit was really mind-blowing”
“Its a great look at how mining and material production works worldwide”
“you may enjoy reading Material World by Conroy based on what I could read, he does not cover Tungsten”
“Truly fascinated story also available on audible. For anyone interested into how "things works" generally is this a must.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.