# The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/pedestrian/

3 people recommended The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury in Hacker News comments and none criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 12 months, in 2 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

2 of the 3 people who recommend it commented in one thread, “There Will Come Soft Rains [pdf]”.

**Verdict:** People recommend this Bradbury short story because it hits harder on rereading and feels apt for modern life. No caveat recurs in the quotes.

Summary written by Claude from 3 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- Hits harder on rereading (1 comment in the sample): "The Pedestrian hit me much harder this time around than the first time I read it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49164612))
- Feels apt for modern life (1 comment in the sample): "I think that one’s more apt to modern life." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49163995))

## Other short stories people recommend

- [The Last Question by Isaac Asimov](https://hackerapproved.com/p/last-question/): 44 recommend, 5 mixed, 2 criticize
- [They're Made Out of Meat by Terry Bisson](https://hackerapproved.com/p/they-re-made-out-of-meat/): 15 recommend, 2 mixed, 4 criticize
- [The Machine Stops by E. M. Forster](https://hackerapproved.com/p/machine-stops/): 14 recommend, 1 mixed, 0 criticize
- [Lena by qntm](https://hackerapproved.com/p/lena/): 13 recommend, 3 mixed, 0 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury", https://hackerapproved.com/p/pedestrian/ (3 recommend, 0 mixed, 0 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.