Foundation
Isaac Asimov
110 people recommended it in 40 threads, 2008–2025.
2 of those were in the last year.
1 commenter pushed back on it — worth reading the threads.
What people on Hacker News said
The early Foundation is sort of a future history version of "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" (I seem to recall that was intentional, actually).
It is really social-science fiction if that makes sense - the premise is a mathematical model that can predict the future of an intergalactic civilization, with social and technological decline, dark ages and recovery.
There's something beautiful about the notion that human behavior can become predictable when you take people in a group - Seldon's "psychohistory".
Light, fast paced, brilliant in the use of sci-fi to raise interesting sociological questions. It makes a great vacation read.
Images and stories from those still pop into my head randomly decades later, and bits and pieces appear throughout pop culture.
Anytime I think about the longevity of our civilization, I think of it.
Where it comes up
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