The Best Essay

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Site and stylistic impressions

  • Some note the blog looks unchanged on desktop but very different on mobile; overall design is described as old-fashioned.
  • A few readers say the prose “sounds” different or even AI-generated, though this is contested and left unclear.

Concept of “the best essay” and ordering

  • Many challenge the idea that a single “best essay” can exist.
  • Several argue the author confuses “better than” (partial order) with a global ranking (total order); best-in-category doesn’t imply a universal best.
  • The claim that critics are “pseudo‑intellectuals” is widely criticized as ad hominem and philosophically sloppy.

What makes a great essay: topic, surprise, truth

  • The essay’s criteria (important topic + surprising insight) resonate with some, especially the emphasis on initial questions and discovery.
  • Others say this ignores emotional impact, rhetoric, audience, and other dimensions (e.g., most moving, most persuasive, most enduring).

Breadth vs. depth, and the “super‑genius” tangent

  • The line “breadth comes from reading… depth from doing” is heavily discussed.
  • Some agree: real depth comes only from practice and “doing the work.”
  • Others counter that deep knowledge can come from reading in well‑documented fields, or that the statement is narrow and dismissive.
  • Long subthreads debate “super‑geniuses” who supposedly master domains from minimal input, with anecdotes, skepticism, and references to famous mathematicians.

Scope of great essays: science/tech vs. relationships and society

  • The essay’s suggestion that the best essays are usually about major scientific/technological discoveries draws strong pushback.
  • Many point to classic essays on relationships, religion, politics, and civil rights as counterexamples; several list canonical literary and political essays.
  • Some say this reflects a tech‑centric, capitalist bias and a weak grasp of humanities.

Engagement with essay tradition and the word “essay”

  • Several are surprised the piece barely mentions actual essays besides an 1844 evolution manuscript, which is long and atypical.
  • Others invoke Montaigne and the etymology of “essay” as “to try,” arguing that essays are exploratory attempts rather than optimal products.

Writing process, format, and meta‑comparisons

  • Readers like the focus on questions, rewriting, and backtracking, and some see parallels to startup creation.
  • Others compare the described process to language‑model “beam search.”
  • The separated notes/footnotes are seen as disruptive; suggestions include inline notes, page‑bottom footnotes, or Tufte‑style margins.

Overall reception

  • Some find the piece inspirational for their own writing.
  • Others see it as a “big miss”: superficial, self‑regarding, or recycling obvious insights in grandiose terms.