# You and Your Research by Richard Hamming

7 Hacker News commenters recommended You and Your Research by Richard Hamming and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** People recommend Richard Hamming's talk on doing important research and making work matter; it is free to read or watch and is often shared as the essay to read.

## Why people recommend it

- Essential reading on research (2 comments): "This essay by OG Richard Hamming is the one to read" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49135543)) "I prefer Richard Hamming's take" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47367936))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Programming as Theory Building by Peter Naur](https://hackerapproved.com/p/programming-as-theory-building.md): 32 recommend
- [Ur-Fascism by Umberto Eco](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ur-fascism.md): 18 recommend
- [Politics and the English Language by George Orwell](https://hackerapproved.com/p/politics-and-the-english-language.md): 14 recommend
- [Right to Read by Richard Stallman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/right-to-read.md): 12 recommend
- [Meditations on Moloch by Scott Alexander](https://hackerapproved.com/p/meditations-on-moloch.md): 11 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "You and Your Research by Richard Hamming", https://hackerapproved.com/p/you-and-your-research/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).
