Echopraxia
Peter Watts
11 people recommended it in 10 threads, 2015–2024.
3 commenters pushed back on it — worth reading the threads.
What people on Hacker News said
And let's not pretend that the Hugo committee is some sort of arbiter of truth. Plenty of real stinkers (N. K. Jemisin anyone?) have won it. Also, If I'm in the mood for hard sci-fi, I'll read Peter Watts who is (again) on a different league. Blindsight and Echopraxia navigate similar (but not only!) themes to TBP in a much more intelligent, thought-provoking and cohesive way.
Both books have a good section after the story where Watts explains the research and citations of how he came up with the story. If you read that part it may break your brain in a questioning existence kind of way.
These books really challenge your thinking or force you to think hard and/or see things through another lens. They are also really good reads that are very hard to put down.
The ideas on those books about sentient life are eye opening and something I still think is heavily debated in the scientific community.
They permanently changed how I think about cognition, consciousness and how fragile and small a thing conscious life is and that we have to protect it.
Where it comes up
- Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before? 2020 · 2 recommendations
- Ask HN: What were the best books you read this year? 2024 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: Any interesting books you have read lately? 2023 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: Books you read in 2022 and recommend for 2023 2022 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: What are some of the best books you have read in 2022? 2022 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: Modern Sci-Fi Book Recommendations? 2021 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life? 2020 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: Best books you read in the past decade? 2019 · 1 recommendation
- The Best Books I Read in 2015 2015 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: What books are you reading? 2015 · 1 recommendation