Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned
Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned by Kenneth O. Stanley and Joel Lehmanby Kenneth O. Stanley and Joel Lehman
Shares rank 91 of 152 nonfiction books by recommenders
People recommend it for its core idea that in open-ended problems you only know which actions were good in hindsight. One critic says it is padded and could be half as long.
People recommend it for its core idea that in open-ended problems you only know which actions were good in hindsight. One critic says it is padded and could be half as long.
4 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 3
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 75%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: 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: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 3 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 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
Changes how you view the world
“Next read the Architects paradox, Why Greatness cannot be planned and Understanding Variation and your views of the world will be forever altered.”
Comment from 15 Jan 2026 in “Ask HN: What did you find out or explore today?” Core idea about hindsight in open-ended problems
“The core idea is that in open-ended scenarios you don't know what action was good except in hindsight”
Comment from 10 Jun 2026 in “Rich Sutton on AI creativity and discovery” Called a neat read on the topic
“There's a neat book about this”
Comment from 19 Feb 2026 in “Against Theory-Motivated Experimentation”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Padded; could be half as long
“it is still needlessly padded; could have been half the pages and not miss anything”
Comment from 6 Sep 2026 in “Doomscrolling ourselves to death”
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 Cliff 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 | — | — |
| Why Greatness Cannot Be Plannedby Kenneth O. Stanley and Joel LehmanThis page | 3 | 1 | 75% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
All 4 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“it is still needlessly padded; could have been half the pages and not miss anything”
“The core idea is that in open-ended scenarios you don't know what action was good except in hindsight”
“There's a neat book about this”
“Next read the Architects paradox, Why Greatness cannot be planned and Understanding Variation and your views of the world will be forever altered.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.