# The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/selfish-gene/ 13 people recommended The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins in Hacker News comments, 1 had mixed feelings and 5 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 8 of 12 months, in 12 threads. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule. **Verdict:** Recommended for teaching how evolution works from the gene's view and building evolutionary thinking. Critics say its story is detached from how systems survive change. Summary written by Claude from 20 comments. ## Why people recommend it - Explains how evolution works (4 comments in the sample): "He argues/explains how evolutionary forces become dominant, with much more focus on the why." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46147735)) "The Selfish Gene" finally made me understand how evolution actually works." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48022885)) "his argumentation teaches a lot about "evolutionary thinking" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49946254)) - Influential, favourite book (3 comments in the sample): "The Selfish Gene' is one of my favourite books because of the concepts within" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49722102)) "The selfish gene" is one of the most influential books I read." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48022638)) "When all is said and done, this book must be the one." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46346828)) - Clear, informative popular science (3 comments in the sample): "I have found his popular books like The Selfish Gene and The Ancestor's Tale very informative." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48986093)) "Worth reading something like the Selfish Gene if you want to understand it a bit better." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47649391)) "his (terrific) book, The Selfish Gene" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46526407)) - Gene-centred view of competition (2 comments in the sample): "puts forward a strong argument for how the actual competitive battlefield on Earth is between genes" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48552201)) "There is no self. We are but pre-programmed propagation vectors." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46345909)) ## What people warn about - Model may be overstated (2 comments in the sample): "needs to be taken with a suitable grain of salt" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48552294)) "It’s just a nice looking model author made up." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46347489)) ## Other popular science books people recommend - [Gödel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter](https://hackerapproved.com/p/g-del-escher-bach/): 37 recommend, 9 mixed, 10 criticize - [Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/thinking-fast-and-slow/): 13 recommend, 2 mixed, 13 criticize - [Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows](https://hackerapproved.com/p/thinking-in-systems/): 13 recommend, 0 mixed, 0 criticize - [A City on Mars by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith](https://hackerapproved.com/p/a-city-on-mars/): 10 recommend, 0 mixed, 3 criticize ## Where to get it - [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/019898538X) - [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/book/9780198985389) ## 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 Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins", https://hackerapproved.com/p/selfish-gene/ (13 recommend, 1 mixed, 5 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026). Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.