Summa Technologiae
Summa Technologiae by Stanisław Lemby Stanisław Lem and Joanna Zylinska and Hanna Rudak and Giovanni Balletta
Shares rank 17 of 30 philosophy books by recommenders
People recommend it for its early foresight about technology and its survey of the history of future science.
People recommend it for its early foresight about technology and its survey of the history of future science.
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: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: 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
Anticipated technology implications decades earlier
“This was obviously covered back in 1964, with the relevant implications.”
Comment from 29 Apr 2026 on Hacker News Surveys the history of future science
“the book detailling the history of future science”
Comment from 21 Jul 2026 in “Ask HN: Favourite science history book of the 20th century?”
Other philosophy books people recommend
The four most recommended other philosophy 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tao Te Chingby 老子 and Yang Peng and Jordi Fibla and James Legge | 32 | 3 | 91% | 9 | — | Approved |
| Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenanceby Robert M. Pirsig | 24 | 3 | 89% | 9 | 44 yrs3 owners | Approved |
| Meditationsby Marcus Aurelius | 17 | 4 | 81% | 8 | — | Approved |
| I Am a Strange Loopby Douglas R. Hofstadter | 16 | 1 | 94% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Summa Technologiaeby Stanisław Lem and Joanna Zylinska and Hanna Rudak and Giovanni BallettaThis page | 3 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
2 of the 3 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“the book detailling the history of future science”
“This was obviously covered back in 1964, with the relevant implications.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.