The Whispering Earring by Scott Alexander
Ranked 12 of 32 short stories by recommenders
Short story people cite for thinking about outsourcing thought to AI and cognitive dependence. Critics say it doesn't clearly say what it means.
Short story people cite for thinking about outsourcing thought to AI and cognitive dependence. Critics say it doesn't clearly say what it means.
9 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 8
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 89%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not 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
- 8 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 8 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 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
Relevant to AI-era thinking
“Wow what a read! Thanks for sharing. Really helped me unpack why I’m so bothered by people who c/p AI answers verbatim.”
Comment from 14 Jul 2026 in “Are we offloading too much of our thinking to AI?” “I think it's very relevant to what the author is concerned with here.”
Comment from 3 Aug 2026 in “How Go Players Disempower Themselves to AI” “I love it for the LLM era.”
Comment from 14 Jul 2026 in “Are we offloading too much of our thinking to AI?” Reminder to guard cognitive health
“one of my spinning tops to remind me to remain vigilant of my cognitive health”
Comment from 14 May 2026 in “The AI Zombification of Universities” “which is one of my spinning tops to remind me to remain vigilant”
Comment from 14 May 2026 in “The AI Zombification of Universities”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Does not clearly state its meaning
“this story's failure to say what it means has in some ways only made it less relevant”
Comment from 23 Jul 2026 in “Clarity didn't work, trying mysterianism”
Other short stories people recommend
The four most recommended other short stories, 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 Last Questionby Isaac Asimov | 50 | 2 | 96% | 6 | 52 yrs3 owners | Approved |
| There Will Come Soft Rainsby Ray Bradbury | 27 | 3 | 90% | 4 | — | Approved |
| They're Made Out of Meatby Terry Bisson | 17 | 4 | 81% | 4 | — | Approved |
| Lenaby qntm | 16 | 0 | 100% | 7 | — | Approved |
| The Whispering Earring by Scott AlexanderThis page | 8 | 1 | 89% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
8 of the 10 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I think it's very relevant to what the author is concerned with here.”
“this story's failure to say what it means has in some ways only made it less relevant”
“I feel like it's premise is confused”
“Wow what a read! Thanks for sharing. Really helped me unpack why I’m so bothered by people who c/p AI answers verbatim.”
“I love it for the LLM era.”
“one of my spinning tops to remind me to remain vigilant of my cognitive health”
“which is one of my spinning tops to remind me to remain vigilant”
“you may also find Whispering Earring a counterbalance to this story”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.