Systemantics
Systemantics by John Gallby John Gall
Shares rank 19 of 50 popular science books by recommenders
People recommend it as a realistic, honest view that systems always fail, and as a book system designers read closely and find well worth reading.
People recommend it as a realistic, honest view that systems always fail, and as a book system designers read closely and find well worth reading.
5 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- 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: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
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 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
Realistic, honest view of failure
“a realistic, honest view that systems always fail”
Comment from 23 Aug 2026 in “How Complex Systems Fail (1998)” Well worth reading
“The book is well worth reading.”
Comment from 10 Mar 2026 in “Turing Award winner and former Oxford professor Tony Hoare passed away” Favorite reading for system designers
“the book that systwm designers read under the covers at night with a torch”
Comment from 10 Mar 2026 in “Turing Award winner and former Oxford professor Tony Hoare passed away” Really good on its topic
“John Gall’s books are really good on this topic”
Comment from 23 Aug 2026 in “How Complex Systems Fail (1998)”
Other popular science books people recommend
The four most recommended other popular science 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gödel, Escher, Bachby Douglas R. Hofstadter | 47 | 10 | 82% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Thinking, Fast and Slowby Daniel Kahneman | 17 | 13 | 57% | 9 | — | — |
| Thinking in Systemsby Donella H. Meadows and Diana Wright | 17 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| The Selfish Geneby Richard Dawkins | 14 | 5 | 74% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Systemanticsby John GallThis page | 5 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
4 of the 6 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“a realistic, honest view that systems always fail”
“John Gall’s books are really good on this topic”
“the book that systwm designers read under the covers at night with a torch”
“The book is well worth reading.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.