These are the mysteries tackled in i am a strange loop, douglas hofstadter s first book length journey into philosophy since godel, escher, bach. These are the mysteries tackled in i am a strange loop, douglas hofstadters first booklength journey into philosophy since godel, escher, bach. It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account hofstadter s law. At one level, the book is about a parallel between three people. Mar 09, 2019 bach, escher and godels strange loops may have the answer in 1979, a cult book by douglas hofstadter explored consciousness via a mathematical idea found in art and music. In some ways, godel, escher, bach is an entire humanistic education between the covers of a single book. This month we read godel, escher, bach by douglas hofstadter this is a fantastically weird and wonderful book. Besides being a profound and entertaining meditation on human thought and creativity, this book looks at the surprising points of contact between the music of bach, the artwork of escher, and the mathematics of godel. Like penrose, hofstadter uses godels theorem to understand the nature of human consciousness and the limits of artificial intelligence. The first edition of the novel was published in 1979, and was written by douglas r. Winner of the pulitzer prize and the national book award. Intelligence, art, music, and life are a strange loop.
By exploring common themes in the lives and works of logician kurt godel, artist m. Compulsively readable and endlessly thoughtprovoking, this is a moving and profound inquiry into the nature of mind. Douglas hofstadters book is concerned directly with the nat. However, according to hofstadter, the formal system that underlies all mental activity transcends the system that supports it. An eternal golden braid won both the pulitzer prize for general nonfiction and a national book award at that time. This website is available with pay and free online books. For the general reader and the computer techie alike, this book still sets a standard. Hofstadter has 29 books on goodreads with 243069 ratings. However, according to hofstadter, the formal system. Jan, 2016 while penroses book is often vague and unfocused, hofstadters godel, escher, bach is a similar grand tour which remains largely coherent and focused. Godel, escher, bach is a great examination of spellbinding contemplations at the center of mental science. An eternal golden braid it is an inherent property of intelligence that it can jump out of the task which it is performing, and survey what it has done. An eternal golden braid fifth printing by hofstadter, douglas r. Everybodys favorite is the concept of entropy, a measure of disorder in thermodynamics.
Douglas hofstadter, the pulitzer prizewinning author of godel, escher. Hofstadter and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. An eternal golden braid, also known as geb, is a 1979 book by douglas hofstadter. Nov 22, 20 twenty years after it topped the bestseller charts, douglas r. Hofstadters clean, lucid prose offers a deeper understanding of the topics covered in this book. Jul 04, 2018 douglas hofstadters book godel, escher, bach. Why i dont love godel, escher, bach infinite negative utility. Mar 17, 2015 a beautifully written book on the subject is incompleteness by rebecca goldstein. A beautifully written book on the subject is incompleteness by rebecca goldstein. An eternal golden braid is a classic text thats had a strong influence on countless people. Douglas hofstadter s book is concerned directly with the nature of maps or links between formal systems. Godel, escher, bach is a wonderful exploration of fascinating ideas at the heart of cognitive science. Discover book depositorys huge selection of douglas hofstadter books online. Godel escher bach by hofstadter, first edition abebooks.
Free shipping and pickup in store on eligible orders. Aug 30, 2011 in 1980 a 34yearold professor of computer science at indiana university named douglas hofstadter won the pulitzer prize for godel escher bach, making it one of the greatest and most unlikely success stories in the history of the prize. Douglas richard hofstadter is an american scholar of cognitive science, physics, and comparative literature whose research focuses on consciousness, thinking and creativity. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 822 pages and is available in paperback format. Its a venerated book among a certain stripe of computer scientist and mathematician, and its reputed to have inspired generations of people to pursue the study of logic and artificial intelligence.
Canon by intervallic augmentation in this dialogue, they discuss modifying a tune to get different tunes but with the same ratio of note changes, e. A very good or better copy, with some dust spotting to boards. Sep 21, 2011 godel, escher, bach is easily my favourite book, and has been for the thirtyodd years since i first read it. Synopsis this groundbreaking pulitzer prizewinning book sets the standard for interdisciplinary writing, exploring the patterns and symbols in the thinking of mathematician kurt godel, artist m. An eternal golden braid is an intellectual treatise on the ways by which thinking and cognitive abilities emerge from logical constructions. This is the riddle that drove hofstadter to write this extraordinary book. The book explores the common topics that are encountered by exploring the lives of three famous personalities, namely kurt godel, johann sebastian bach. Godel, escher, bach by douglas hofstadter alltime 100. However, according to hofstadter, the formal system that underlies all mental activity trans. Escher, and composer johann sebastian bach, the book expounds concepts fundamental to mathematics, symmetry, and intelligence.
Every few decades an unknown author brings out a book of such depth, clarity, range, wit, beauty and originality that it is recognized at once as a major literary. Douglas hofstadters classic nonfiction godel, escher, bach. An eternal golden braid 1979 explores recursion and other aspects of mathematics in music, logic and art, circling recursively around kurt godel, maurits escher, and johann sebastian bachand, most appropriately, lewis carroll the penname for a major nineteenth century mathematician. Why i dont love godel, escher, bach infinite negative.
Hofstadters great achievement in godel, escher, bach was making abstruse mathematical topics like undecidability, recursion, and strange loops accessible and remarkably entertaining. Escher, in particular how their work in music, math and art manages to loop back on itself and express a kind of selfreferentiality. Godel, escher, bach by douglas hofstadter the strange loop phenomenon occurs whenever by moving upwards or downwards through the levels of some hierarchical system, we unexpectedly find ourselves right back where we started. So, for my next visit to a desert island, give me sun, sand, water and geb, and ill live happily ever after. Bach, the graphic art of escher and the mathematical theorems of godel, as well as ideas drawn from logic, biology, psychology, physics and linguistics, douglas hofstadter illuminates one of the greatest mysteries of modern science. In 1980 a 34yearold professor of computer science at indiana university named douglas hofstadter won the pulitzer prize for godel escher bach, making it one of the greatest and most unlikely success stories in the history of the prize. Written by douglas r hofstadter, godel, escher, bach.
Godel, escher, bach is easily my favourite book, and has been for the thirtyodd years since i first read it. Through illustration and analysis, the book discusses. An eternal golden braid is still something of a marvel. Twenty years after it topped the bestseller charts, douglas r. Borrowing a page from lewis carroll who might well have been a fan of this book, each chapter presents dialogue between the tortoise and achilles, as well as other characters who dramatize concepts discussed later in more detail. Douglas richard hofstadter born february 15, 1945 is an american scholar of cognitive science, physics, and comparative literature whose research includes concepts such as the sense of self in relation to the external world, consciousness, analogymaking, artistic creation, literary translation, and discovery in mathematics and physics. Douglas hofstadters book is concerned directly with the nature of maps or links between formal systems. The main characters of this science, non fiction story are. Hofstadter is the son of nobel prizewinning douglas richard hofstadter is an american scholar of cognitive science, physics, and comparative literature whose research. Casti, nature winner of the national book award in science winner of the pulitzer prize in general nonfiction. The man who would teach machines to think the atlantic. Moderate level of formality, also covers some other things, but all godel.
389 216 1481 994 1600 1451 748 1082 1633 667 1382 149 1116 287 1234 1680 428 1236 518 666 692 773 927 270 161 771 26 244 733 1393 1137