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Things I Won't Work With by Derek Lowe

Shares rank 21 of 60 articles by recommenders

Readers recommend it as an entertaining, accessible account of chemistry and lab hazards, with all 33 articles available to read.

Readers recommend it as an entertaining, accessible account of chemistry and lab hazards, with all 33 articles available to read.

7 people gave an opinion

recommend it
7
criticize it
0
approval share
100%
Each figure is one person. RecommendsCriticizes

Recommended in 5 of 13 months

  1. November 2025: not recommended
  2. December 2025: not recommended
  3. January 2026: not recommended
  4. February 2026: not recommended
  5. March 2026: recommended
  6. April 2026: recommended
  7. May 2026: not recommended
  8. June 2026: recommended
  9. July 2026: recommended
  10. August 2026: recommended
  11. September 2026: not recommended
  12. October 2026: not recommended
  13. November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)

Why it doesn’t carry the badge

  • 7 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
  • Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
  • Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, 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

  • Entertaining writing about chemistry

    “the "first hit is free" dopamine rush is his "Things I Won't Work With", a masterclass in bringing chemistry to life”

    Comment from 16 Jun 2026 in “Copper transport drug restores memory and clears toxic Alzheimer's proteins”

    “has written amusingly about why he won't work with it”

    Comment from 22 Apr 2026 in “Making RAM at Home [video]”

    “the hilarious Things I won't work with series”

    Comment from 26 Jul 2026 in “Clinical Failure Rates over the Decades: Yikes”

Other articles people recommend

The four most recommended other articles, 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.

Things I Won't Work With by Derek Lowe compared with 4 alternatives
ProductRecommendCriticizeApprovalMonthsOwnedBadge
Programming as Theory Buildingby Peter Naur320100%7—Approved
Ur-Fascismby Umberto Eco18290%8—Approved
Politics and the English Languageby George Orwell140100%5—Approved
The Grug Brained Developer by Carson Gross13193%9—Approved
Things I Won't Work With by Derek LoweThis page70100%5——
See all 60 articles, ranked

What people said

5 of the 7 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.

“the hilarious Things I won't work with series”

RecommendsComment from 26 Jul 2026 in “Clinical Failure Rates over the Decades: Yikes”

“the "first hit is free" dopamine rush is his "Things I Won't Work With", a masterclass in bringing chemistry to life”

RecommendsComment from 16 Jun 2026 in “Copper transport drug restores memory and clears toxic Alzheimer's proteins”

“An excerpt from a favourite of mine”

RecommendsComment from 26 Apr 2026 in “Why Has There Been So Little Progress on Alzheimer's Disease?”

“has written amusingly about why he won't work with it”

RecommendsComment from 22 Apr 2026 in “Making RAM at Home [video]”

“have all 33 articles available to (re) read”

RecommendsComment from 17 Mar 2026 in “Derek Lowe's "Things I Won't Work with" Series in RSS”

Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.