Claude Shannon: How a Genius Thinks, Works, and Lives
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Submission timeline
2007–2026One slot for every year since HN launched. Height is that year's peak points; orange marks a 100+ point or 50+ comment breakout. Select a bar to open its strongest thread.
First comments on top threads
HN comment orderArthur Lewbell, who knew Shannon personally, wrote a eulogy for him [1] and included photos of his "gadgeteers paradise" toy room[2][3] which is mentioned in the article. I collected photos of the gadgets he built to play games (now in the MIT Museum) and put them on this list in boargamegeek[4]. [1] https://www2.bc.edu/arthur-lewbel/Shannon.html [2] https://www2.bc.edu/arthur-lewbel/toys1.jpg [3] https://www2.bc.edu/arthur-lewbel/toys2.jpg [4] https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/143233/claude-shannon-man...
I love stories about Shannon, Feynman, Weiner, Grothendeick, Turing, and others, but I've become suspicious of the idea of genius. While these and others are undoubtedly examples, and telling their stories inspires us to follow their paths at least for a while, the underlying idea is that these people, whose minds necessarily took liberty first to make their discoveries, are somehow unreachable Others. This is where I diverge, as I think if we were to cultivate the core values of…
followup nice.
The first top-level comment from each of the four biggest threads, in HN’s own order. Excerpts are shortened; open a comment for full context.
- Breakout years
- 2
- Total points
- 535
- Total comments
- 183
100+ points or 50+ comments
reference only — not used in Hall rules or ranking
reference only — not used in Hall rules or ranking
Every submission
| Date | Title as submitted | By | Points | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-07-20 | 10,000 Hours with Claude Shannon: 12 Unforgettable Lessons from a Digital Genius | hvass | 9 | 1 |
| 2017-07-21 | Claude Shannon: How a Genius Thinks, Works, and LivesFirst breakout · Best thread | seycombi | 362 | 100 |
| 2019-03-04 | 10k Hours with Claude Shannon: How a Genius Thinks, Works, and Lives | r4um | 5 | 0 |
| 2019-08-26 | 10k Hours with Claude Shannon (2017) | karsinkk | 2 | 0 |
| 2021-01-20 | 10,000 Hours with Claude Shannon (2017)Hall induction · Latest 20+ point return | bmcn2020 | 157 | 82 |