Surreal Numbers
Surreal Numbers by Donald Knuthby Donald Knuth
Shares rank 10 of 19 mathematics books by recommenders
People recommend it as a wonderfully made introduction to surreal numbers and the game theory around them, and praise its clear style.
5 people recommended Surreal Numbers by Donald Knuth in Hacker News comments and none criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026.
Summary written by Claude from 3 comments.
5 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- mixed feelings
- 0
- warn against or regret it
- 0
The record
Recommended in 4 of 12 months
In 5 different threads.
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 12 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
- Recommended in 5 threadsNeeds 5 or more, met.
- The biggest thread supplies 20% of its recommendersNeeds half or less, met.
The same rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. Mixed feelings count toward neither side. How the badge works
What people say about it
Reasons grouped from a sample of 3 of the 5 opinions about it, picked in proportion to how many people recommend it, have mixed feelings and criticize it. Each mark is one comment in the sample. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Wonderfully made introduction to surreal numbers
“A wonderfully made introduction to the surreal numbers and their surrounding game theoretic concepts”
Comment from 18 Sep 2026 in “I vibed a proof of Conway's conjecture” Praised as a great writing style
“another great example of the style I'm referring to”
Comment from 20 Sep 2026 in “If math is more than proof, we need to better celebrate the rest of it” Described as life-changing
“This book changed my life”
Comment from 5 Dec 2025 in “Review: Surreal Numbers”
Other mathematics books people recommend
The four most recommended other mathematics 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 | Mixed | Criticize | Approval | Months | Had for | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elements by Euclidby Oliver Byrne | 14 | 2 | 9 | 61% | 8 | — | — |
| Fermat's Last Theoremby Simon Singh | 11 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Gödel's Proofby Nagel and Newman | 9 | 0 | 1 | 90% | 2 | — | — |
| Mathematica: A Secret World of Intuition and Curiosityby David Bessis | 8 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 6 | — | — |
| Surreal Numbersby Donald KnuthThis page | 5 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
3 of the 5 opinions about it, picked in proportion to the three counts, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“another great example of the style I'm referring to”
“A wonderfully made introduction to the surreal numbers and their surrounding game theoretic concepts”
“This book changed my life”
Counts come from 1,791,911 Hacker News comments labeled by Claude, November 2025 to October 2026, with data through October 31, 2026. Counts updated 3 Nov 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.