The Dosadi Experiment
by Frank Herbert, Frank Hebert · first published 1977
80% recommend13% neutral7% critical
Why HN recommends it
Sci-fi novel by Frank Herbert praised for its interesting worldbuilding, gripping drama, and a sharp take on communicating with aliens and on government; a good pick for Herbert fans beyond Dune.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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…few other writers in any genre can match. The Dune series is genius, the ConSentiency series(only two novels and a short story or two, sadly) nearly reaches Dune's level, and there are portions of The Dosadi Experiment that exceed anything in Dune.
on “Dune Genesis (1980)” ↗Lord of Light - Zelazy Dosadi Experiment - Frank Herbert
on “Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?” ↗…Dune was my favorite even though it was the most preachy. I thought the original Dune was a bit preachy being so strongly allegorical and all. I prefer Herbert's other novels like Whipping Star/The Dosadi Experiment
on “Ask YC: What's the most inspiring sci-fi book you've read?” ↗…Asimov's Foundation series) A Fire Upon the Deep - Vernor Vinge Chung Kuo, the Middle Kingdom - David Wingrove Ancillary Justice - Ann Leckie Neutron Star - Larry Niven Existence - David Brin The Dosadi Experiment - Frank Herbert The Space Merchants - Pohl and Kornbluth Sun of Suns - Karl Schroeder All the Traps of Earth - Clifford Simak Test of Fire - Ben Bova The Diamond Age - Neal Stephenson
on “Ask HN: What's your favorite sci-fi book?” ↗“Snowcrash” by Stephenson “The Dosadi Experiment” by Herbert I just read “How to Lose the Time War”. That was good (actually I think I have the name slightly wrong) Ian M Banks is good. “Use of Weapons” is weaponized fiction. Neil Asher plays in similar…
on “Ask HN: Best Contemporary SF Books” ↗…"Childhood's End" "Anathem" "Eifelheim" "A Case of Conscience" "VALIS" trilogy "The Book of Strange New Things" "Behold The Man" "The God Engines" "Book of the New Sun" "The Parable of the Sower" "The Dosadi Experiment" "Grass" "Project Pope" "Calculating God" "Factoring Humanity" "Jesus on Mars" "Surface Detail
on “Ask HN: Books that gave you different perspective on religion” ↗Frank Herbert had one of his characters (Jorge McKie, in Herbert's best book "The Dosadi Experiment") say that "Eternal sloppiness is the price of liberty". George Orwell wrote something similar. How do we reconcile this view with yours?
on “The price of liberty is eternal vigilance” ↗No control for prosperity. Lifelong comfort insidiously cripples any people on all these levels. For a fun novel on the very subject, read The Dosadi Experiment.
on “I can't stop thinking about Papua New Guinea” ↗Check out The Dosadi Experiment by Frank Herbert.
on “Hey, Bethesda Let’s settle this” ↗Have you read Frank Herbert's Jorj McKie series of books? http://infohost.nmt.edu/~shipman/reading/mckie.html "The main theme of the two principal Jorj X. McKie stories, Whipping Star and The Dosadi Experiment, is the Bureau of Sabotage, an interesting concept in government that is kind of like a ninja GAO. The idea is that all governments and other bureaucracies tend to snowball over time, finally becoming…
on “Digital identity cards: Estonia takes the plunge” ↗It is best just to read the first book. It is complete in itself. And then there is Whipping Star, which is best skimmed through so that you can get to The Dosadi Experiment. In fairness, Whipping Star is a fabulous take on what it would be like to attempt to communicate with an alien species that does not share our basic assumptions. Dosadi Experiment is filled with fascinating…
on “Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?” ↗What's wrong with the Dosadi Experiment? I remember enjoying reading it and finding the worldbuilding really interesting and the drama kept me reading. But I am a sucker for Frank Herbert so maybe I missed the flaws.
on “Alan Moore: Every aspiring writer should read terrible books (2022) [video]” ↗“Sapiens” read it twice, wish I could go back in time and give it to 18yr old me. “The Dosadi Experiment”, probably 5 life-changing concepts just tossed in for flavor. “A Pattern Language” on how spaces inform life and life informs spaces.
on “Ask HN: What 3 Books Would You Recommend to Anyone?” ↗This concept was used in _The Dosadi Experiment_, by Frank Herbert. The Dosadis would input all available information on an adversary into a computer, and build a personality model of them. They would then run game scenarios against the model to…
on “Behavioral Profiling: The password you can't change” ↗Reading Herbert's thoughts on Dune and the all-too-human nature of superheroes reminded me of "The Bureau of Sabotage" (1) from two of his other books, The Dosadi Experiment and Whipping Star: In Herbert's fiction, sometime in the far future, government becomes terrifyingly efficient. Red tape no longer exists: laws are conceived of, passed, funded, and executed within hours,…
on “Dune Genesis (1980)” ↗