Brave New World
by Aldous Huxley · first published 1932
28% recommend68% neutral4% critical
Why HN recommends it
Dystopian novel of a society pacified by pleasure, consumption and conditioning; many find it closer to today's entertainment- and tech-driven world than 1984. Suits readers wanting thought-provoking social critique.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Originally published in 1932, this outstanding work of literature is more crucial and relevant today than ever before. Cloning, feel-good drugs, antiaging programs, and total social control through politics, programming, and media -- has Aldous Huxley accurately predicted our future? With a storyteller's genius, he weaves these ethical controversies in a compelling narrative that dawns in the year 632 AF (After Ford, the deity). When Lenina and Bernard visit a savage reservation, we experience how Utopia can destroy humanity. A powerful work of speculative fiction that has enthralled and terri
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I hate to be That Guy Who Argues With Everything, but I will. I'm a big fan of Huxley and Brave New World, but he wasn't particularly visionary with Soma. Drug use goes back as far as humankind does because people have been trying to cope with the stress of life since there have been people. If you're…
on “Aldous Huxley Foresaw America’s Pill-Popping Addiction” ↗This is a very elitist and narrow way to look at society. It advocates to have an uneducated underclass that would not have the tools to improve or protest their situation. Brave New World is a good book to understand why this is a bad idea. It seems that Orwell and Huxley books are being used as manuals instead of the cautionary tale that they are.
on “A theory that “elite overproduction” leads to political instability (2020)” ↗Four Sci-Fi books that get projections right: * 'Paris in the Twentieth Century' by Jules Verne * 'Brave New World' by Aldous Huxley * '1984' by George Orwell * 'The Space Merchants' by Frederik Pohl and Cyril M. Kornbluth (1952) Verne predicts correctly many technologies and changes they cause in the society.…
on “Dude, you broke the future” ↗I'm pretty sure it is because of two reasons: 1. More people have read 1984 than have read Brave New World. 2. Brave New World is so ridiculously accurate that most people are too afraid to think about what this means. We fear 1984 while living (for the most part, the only real difference is that we don't…
on “The most telling part of “1984″ is the appendix” ↗…Circle by Dave Eggers. This one was scary. About imaginary corporation (a blend of Facebook and Google and Amazon) and probably not too distant future. If you liked Black Mirrors, you will love this. - Brave New World by Huxley, Aldous. Classic novel with interesting thoughts about engineered society, where every human is assigned class, purpose in the society and feature at birth. - Hatching Twitter: A True Story…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?” ↗Also highly relevant is Aldous Huxley's Brave New World: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brave_New_World
on “George Orwell’s 1984 is currently the top selling book on Amazon” ↗- Anna Karenina: Tolstoy knows people better than they know themselves - Brave New World: Aldous Huxley is a genius and a wordsmith - Dune: a sci-fi masterpiece, highly recommended to anyone into sci-fi - Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: not purely fiction but an amazing book…
on “Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?” ↗1984 is on my list. I just finished "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley and although it was a very good read, it was a little depressing since I could imagine the future turning out that way.
on “1984” ↗> If you haven't read 1984... I'd also recommend that you read Aldous Huxley's Brave New World for a counterpoint. The sad part is that the way the world is going appears to be a mix of the worst elements of the two. Of course, the perpetual war in 1984 was a big part of the story, but because…
on “Civ II game a decade old” ↗…- Mary Shelly "On Education" - Bertrand Russell "The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy" - Douglas Adams "Animal Farm" - George Orwell "1984" - George Orwell "Lord of The Flies" - William Golding "Brave New World" - Aldous Huxley "Gulliver's Travels" - Jonathan Swift "The Selfish Gene" - Richard Dawkins
on “Ask HN: What are some good books?” ↗Another classic anti-utopia becoming relevant today is 'Brave New World' by Huxley. See brilliant comparison with '1984' on comic [1] which summarizes Neil Postman's book 'Amusing Ourselves to Death'. [1]: http://highexistence.com/amusing-ourselves-to-death-huxley-v...
on “George Orwell’s 1984 is currently the top selling book on Amazon” ↗I'm talking about Huxley's most famous work, Brave New World. I sounds like you haven't read it. I really suggest that you do, it is a fantastic, albeit frighteningly accurate (seriously drug companies, soma? you named your anti-anxiety medication SOMA!?!?),…
Brave New World is a great dystopian novel by Aldous Huxley in which eugenics plays a central role. I think that reading it will greatly alter your view of such governmental interventions.
on “A Brave New World in China?” ↗…how much I love this book. I've read the Lord of the Rings 3 - 4 times, which I feel is a lot for a pretty thick series. Lord of the Flies: 3 - 4 reads 1984: 3 - 4 reads A Clockwork Orange: 3 reads Brave New World: 4 reads I really like dystopian fiction I guess.
on “Ask HN: Which book have you re-read the most times? how many times?” ↗Between Huxley ("Brave New World") and Orwell ("1984"), I think Huxley saw the future more accurately, although Orwell has amazing insights. I actually thought that "Wall-E" was a good, and particularly accessible, commentary on utopia.…
on “Why Socialists Don't Believe in Fun (1943)” ↗