Best of 2026

The blog posts Hacker News loved most in 2026. 521 posts.

Tools & Productivity
71

Good Tools Are Invisible

TL;DR: A good tool is and ought to be invisible—striving to make such tools is the goal of a toolmaker.One habit I see a lot, and have to push back on, is taking a tool's shortcomings and reselling them as a "puzzle game" which is "fun" to solve.I don't want my tools to be "fun". I want my tools to be invisible.Text…

81

CNC Stone Carving

CNC Stone Carving In a form of architecture so ancient, CNC machines may seem a little out of place. However, when one considers that the medieval builders were always on the forefront of the technology of their day, it no longer seems so strange. To build Gothic today, it must become a reality, not a […]