Principles
Principles by Ray Dalioby Ray Dalio
Shares rank 18 of 24 business books by recommenders
People recommend it for its many good ideas and its explanations of how different fields operate, and one reader calls its principles critical in the modern age of AI.
People recommend it for its many good ideas and its explanations of how different fields operate, and one reader calls its principles critical in the modern age of AI.
3 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 3
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 3 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
Good ideas across many fields
“Lot of good ideas. Explains lot of different fields and how they operate.”
Comment from 11 Jun 2026 in “Ask HN: Are most corporate SWE jobs performative?” Principles relevant to the AI age
“A critical principle in the modern age of AI.”
Comment from 30 Dec 2025 in “The Future of Software Development Is Software Developers” Described as pretty good
“his book Principles is pretty good too”
Comment from 28 Jun 2026 in “Greece Is Richer. So Why Do So Many Greeks Still Feel Poor?”
Other business books people recommend
The four most recommended other business 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 Gervais Principleby Venkatesh Rao | 32 | 6 | 84% | 7 | — | Approved |
| The Lean Startupby Eric Ries | 32 | 6 | 84% | 5 | 10 yrs5 owners | Approved |
| Incorruptibleby Eric RIES | 23 | 11 | 68% | 4 | — | Approved |
| The Goalby Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox and Ensemble cast and Dwight Jon Zimmerman | 21 | 3 | 88% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Principlesby Ray DalioThis page | 3 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
All 3 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“his book Principles is pretty good too”
“Lot of good ideas. Explains lot of different fields and how they operate.”
“A critical principle in the modern age of AI.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.