The Transparent Society
The Transparent Society by David Brinby David Brin
Shares rank 91 of 152 nonfiction books by recommenders
Recommended as an early, thoughtful treatment of surveillance and privacy, with readers pointing to its ideas on how transparency could shape power and personal privacy.
Recommended as an early, thoughtful treatment of surveillance and privacy, with readers pointing to its ideas on how transparency could shape power and personal privacy.
3 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 3
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- 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: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: 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 3 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
Covers surveillance implications extensively
“he covers the implications of this idea extensively in The Transparent Society”
Comment from 16 Dec 2025 in “alpr.watch” Prescient on transparency and privacy
“David Brin was on to something with "The Transparent Society"”
Comment from 11 Oct 2026 in “`123456' password used in Danish CPR data breach” Author is a persuasive deep thinker
“he's a deeper thinker and more persuasive than I am”
Comment from 5 Jun 2026 in “Meta's ships facial recognition on smart glasses”
Other nonfiction books people recommend
The four most recommended other nonfiction 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Cuckoo's Eggby Clifford Stoll | 40 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Amusing Ourselves to Deathby Neil Postman | 36 | 0 | 100% | 9 | 1 yr3 owners | Approved |
| The Anxious Generationby Jonathan Haidt | 24 | 12 | 67% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Bullshit Jobsby David Graeber | 20 | 12 | 63% | 8 | — | — |
| The Transparent Societyby David BrinThis page | 3 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
All 3 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“David Brin was on to something with "The Transparent Society"”
“he's a deeper thinker and more persuasive than I am”
“he covers the implications of this idea extensively in The Transparent Society”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.