The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics in the Natural Sciences
The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics in the Natural Sciences by Eugene Wignerby Eugene Wigner
Shares rank 2 of 3 philosophy essays by recommenders
People recommend it as a classic essay on why mathematics describes the physical world so well, a counterintuitive read that rewards careful reading. Critics raised no caveats.
People recommend it as a classic essay on why mathematics describes the physical world so well, a counterintuitive read that rewards careful reading. Critics raised no caveats.
6 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- 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: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 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
Counterintuitive ideas that reward careful reading
“It's a delightful counterintuition that your gut feeling is mostly wrong”
Comment from 10 May 2026 in “What's a Mathematician to Do?” “It might seem obvious now but read carefully.”
Comment from 13 Feb 2026 in “GPT-5.2 derives a new result in theoretical physics”
Other philosophy essays people recommend
The two most recommended other philosophy essays, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What Is It Like to Be a Bat?by Thomas Nagel | 10 | 4 | 71% | 5 | — | Approved |
| The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics in the Natural Sciencesby Eugene WignerThis page | 6 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| The Myth of Sisyphusby Albert Camus | 6 | 1 | 86% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
5 of the 6 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“This is one of those papers that is massively under appreciated by people who do not study philosophy.”
“see the classic essay The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics in the Natural Sciences”
“It's a delightful counterintuition that your gut feeling is mostly wrong”
“It might seem obvious now but read carefully.”
“I recommend starting here...”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.