# Build a Reasoning Model (From Scratch) by Sebastian Raschka

10 Hacker News commenters recommended Build a Reasoning Model (From Scratch) by Sebastian Raschka and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 1 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended as a clear, trusted video course on building reasoning models from scratch; critics say buying it is more about identity than real value.

## Why people recommend it

- Useful, essential learning resource (2 comments): "I still found it quite useful." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50251402)) "This is an essential resource" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50248268))
- Trusted author who explains clearly (2 comments): "I would trust him because I know he is a reference on his area of knowledge and I know he is because he shares his knowledge" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50248020)) "Sebastian does a great job explaining complex AI topics in a very intuitive way." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50245736))

## What people warn about

- Feels like buying an identity (2 comments): "It's a purchase of an identity, basically." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50247284)) "The target audience of this is for people that like to _think_ they're doing stuff by paying for it" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50248049))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Math Academy](https://hackerapproved.com/p/math-academy.md): 35 recommend
- [Nand2Tetris](https://hackerapproved.com/p/nand2tetris.md): 31 recommend
- [Neural Networks: Zero to Hero by Andrej Karpathy](https://hackerapproved.com/p/neural-networks-zero-to-hero.md): 29 recommend
- [CS193p SwiftUI course by Paul Hegarty](https://hackerapproved.com/p/cs193p-swiftui-course.md): 13 recommend
- [CS336: Language Modeling from Scratch](https://hackerapproved.com/p/cs336-language-modeling-from-scratch.md): 12 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Build a Reasoning Model (From Scratch) by Sebastian Raschka", https://hackerapproved.com/p/sebastian-raschka-s-from-scratch-video-course-on-building-reasoning-models/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).