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%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: 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
- 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.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Programming as Theory Buildingby Peter Naur | 32 | 0 | 100% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Ur-Fascismby Umberto Eco | 18 | 2 | 90% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Politics and the English Languageby George Orwell | 14 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | Approved |
| The Grug Brained Developer by Carson Gross | 13 | 1 | 93% | 9 | — | Approved |
| Things I Won't Work With by Derek LoweThis page | 7 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
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”
“the "first hit is free" dopamine rush is his "Things I Won't Work With", a masterclass in bringing chemistry to life”
“An excerpt from a favourite of mine”
“has written amusingly about why he won't work with it”
“have all 33 articles available to (re) read”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.