# Summa Technologiae by Stanisław Lem

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/summa-technologiae/

3 people recommended Summa Technologiae by Stanisław Lem 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, “Ask HN: Favourite science history book of the 20th century?”.

**Verdict:** People recommend it for its early foresight about technology and its survey of the history of future science.

Summary written by Claude from 2 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- Anticipated technology implications decades earlier (1 comment in the sample): "This was obviously covered back in 1964, with the relevant implications." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47945462))
- Surveys the history of future science (1 comment in the sample): "the book detailling the history of future science" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48988909))

## Other philosophy books people recommend

- [Tao Te Ching by Laozi](https://hackerapproved.com/p/tao-te-ching-translated/): 28 recommend, 2 mixed, 3 criticize
- [Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig](https://hackerapproved.com/p/zen-and-the-art-of-motorcycle-maintenance/): 23 recommend, 0 mixed, 3 criticize
- [I Am a Strange Loop by Douglas Hofstadter](https://hackerapproved.com/p/i-am-a-strange-loop/): 14 recommend, 2 mixed, 1 criticize
- [Meditations by Marcus Aurelius](https://hackerapproved.com/p/meditations/): 14 recommend, 2 mixed, 4 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, "Summa Technologiae by Stanisław Lem", https://hackerapproved.com/p/summa-technologiae/ (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.