# Street-Fighting Mathematics by Sanjoy Mahajan

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/street-fighting-mathematics/

6 people recommended Street-Fighting Mathematics by Sanjoy Mahajan in Hacker News comments and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 12 months, in 3 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

4 of the 6 people who recommend it commented in one thread, “Street-Fighting Mathematics (2008)”.

**Verdict:** People recommend it as a readable maths text that teaches estimation tricks rarely taught in university classes.

Summary written by Claude from 6 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- Readable, interesting approach to thinking (2 comments in the sample): "It's definitely one of the more interesting and readable maths texts out there." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46459397)) "always liked that way of thinking" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46484330))
- Well-liked work by Sanjoy Mahajan (2 comments in the sample): "Even in such goodness as Sanjoy Mahajan's Art of Insight and Street-Fighting" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49726256)) "Loved taking this Sanjoy Mahajan's course on OCW in high school" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48968376))

## Other mathematics books people recommend

- [Elements by Euclid by Oliver Byrne](https://hackerapproved.com/p/elements-of-euclid/): 14 recommend, 2 mixed, 9 criticize
- [Fermat's Last Theorem by Simon Singh](https://hackerapproved.com/p/fermat-s-last-theorem/): 11 recommend, 0 mixed, 0 criticize
- [Gödel's Proof by Nagel and Newman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/g-del-s-proof/): 9 recommend, 0 mixed, 1 criticize
- [Mathematica: A Secret World of Intuition and Curiosity by David Bessis](https://hackerapproved.com/p/mathematica-a-secret-world-of-intuition-and-curiosity/): 8 recommend, 0 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, "Street-Fighting Mathematics by Sanjoy Mahajan", https://hackerapproved.com/p/street-fighting-mathematics/ (6 recommend, 0 mixed, 1 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 3 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.