The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind
The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind by Julian Jaynesby Julian Jaynes
Shares rank 26 of 152 nonfiction books by recommenders
Recommended as a bold, thought-provoking theory of consciousness's origins that raises good questions about mental imagery. Its main caveat: critics find the evidence weak and the central thesis probably wrong.
Recommended as a bold, thought-provoking theory of consciousness's origins that raises good questions about mental imagery. Its main caveat: critics find the evidence weak and the central thesis probably wrong.
18 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 8
- criticize it
- 10
- approval share
- 44%
Recommended in 6 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: 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
- 8 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 0.8 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 6 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
Fascinating idea worth engaging with
“Probably the most fascinating idea there is right now in the field. It might be right. My intuition is that it's not right”
Comment from 17 Aug 2026 in “The Origin of Consciousness (2008)” “this was the most interesting book I've read that is probably wrong”
Comment from 19 Jun 2026 in “Notes from Tired Egyptian Whose Job Is Explaining That Humans Built the Pyramids” “there's a fascinating section in Julian Jaynes's”
Comment from 29 Mar 2026 in “The Cognitive Dark Forest”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Central thesis seems unsupported or wrong
“Probably the most fascinating idea there is right now in the field. It might be right. My intuition is that it's not right”
Comment from 17 Aug 2026 in “The Origin of Consciousness (2008)” “this was the most interesting book I've read that is probably wrong”
Comment from 19 Jun 2026 in “Notes from Tired Egyptian Whose Job Is Explaining That Humans Built the Pyramids” “The content of the Ea-Nasir letter and the personal reflections and issues presented there really destroy the central thesis of the book.”
Comment from 17 Aug 2026 in “The Origin of Consciousness (2008)” - Comment from 15 Sep 2026 in “I can't stop thinking about Papua New Guinea”
- Comment from 27 Jul 2026 in “If digital computers are conscious, they are conscious at the hardware level”
- Comment from 17 Aug 2026 in “The Origin of Consciousness (2008)”
- Comment from 14 Oct 2026 in “Hittite royal archive found in Turkey”
Relies on dubious or invalidated research
“has the same sort of furtive/animistic fallacies are put forth to justify a questionable conclusion”
Comment from 11 Jan 2026 in “"Scholars Will Call It Nonsense" the Structure of Erich von Däniken's Argument” “Jaynes relies on some earlier work that's been invalidated”
Comment from 17 Aug 2026 in “The Origin of Consciousness (2008)” “that study is extremely dubious/barring on fan-fiction”
Comment from 18 Sep 2026 in “Two parallel neural ectoderm progenitors contribute to the developing brain” Reads as theory more than science
“work is entirely hypothetical and is thought if as just an interesting idea rather than actually having any semblance of truth to it”
Comment from 15 Sep 2026 in “I can't stop thinking about Papua New Guinea” “literary theory posing as neuroscience”
Comment from 12 Nov 2025 in “Hallucinated Gods”
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 Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mindby Julian JaynesThis page | 8 | 10 | 44% | 6 | — | — |
What people said
18 of the 19 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“It's unfortunately a bit of claptrap.”
“those papercuts were kinda off-putting for me”
“that study is extremely dubious/barring on fan-fiction”
“The hypothesis breaks down pretty hard when you realize he just kind of handwaves away people in the rest of the world”
“work is entirely hypothetical and is thought if as just an interesting idea rather than actually having any semblance of truth to it”
“it covers all the issues and complexities you may have”
“That is what discredits the idea in my view.”
“Probably the most fascinating idea there is right now in the field. It might be right. My intuition is that it's not right”
“The content of the Ea-Nasir letter and the personal reflections and issues presented there really destroy the central thesis of the book.”
“Jaynes relies on some earlier work that's been invalidated”
“Absolutely fascinating but probably complete bullshit.”
“this was the most interesting book I've read that is probably wrong”
“deeply unpersuasive when it comes to actual humans”
“Shoutout for Jaynes! I used to call it my "buck twenty-five" book”
“there's a fascinating section in Julian Jaynes's”
“it does get you thinking about mental visualization/audiolization vs. hallucinations”
“has the same sort of furtive/animistic fallacies are put forth to justify a questionable conclusion”
“literary theory posing as neuroscience”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.