Geb book by douglas hofstadter

Twenty years after it topped the bestseller charts, douglas r. Hofstadter seemed poised to become an indelible part of the culture. Douglas hofstadter s new collection of essays begins with a lengthy discussion of selfreference and ends with a deeplyfelt plea for nuclear sanity. An eternal golden braid, also known as geb, is a 1979 book by douglas hofstadter. An eternal golden braid often called geb, as our guide book. Godel, escher, and bach are deeply intertwined in this very short dialogue. In his magnum opus, geb, he explores what it is to be a selfthinking machine, and how, by looking at it from some other perspectives, we. People called it the bible of artificial intelligence. Most of i am a strange loop is recycled from douglas hofstadters previous books, especially goedel escher bach or geb, to its friends. I am a strange loop free summary by douglas hofstadter. In both his writing and his teaching, hofstadter stresses the concrete, constantly using examples and analogies, and avoids the abstract. An eternal golden braid 20th anniversary edition with a new preface by the author 20anniversary ed by hofstadter, douglas r isbn. Not even its publishers or readers who just absolutely love it. Even though i had no cs background,i decided to apply to a few ai programs and wound up going to the university of edinburgh for an msc.

An eternal golden braid which won the pulitzer prize for nonfiction. Buy a cheap copy of i am a strange loop book by douglas r. Geb was not just an influential book, it was a book fully of the future. It seems like were missing some construct to express a recursive formula, but hofstadter states on page 417 that primitive recursive predicates are represented in tnt which implies they. Godel, escher, bach geb debates the question of consciousness and the possibility of artificial intelligence. Welldesigned and highly browsable, geb captured the imagination of a new generation of intellectuals. It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account hofstadter s law. This weekend i read a short fragment from douglas hofstadter s book i am a strange loop at my friends james and lucys wedding james is the person who initially introduced me to douglas hofstadter s earlier book godel, escher, bach. Pulitzerprize winner douglas hofstadter takes on some weighty and wonderful questions in i am a strange loopamong them, the size of a soul and the vagaries of thoughtand proposes persuasive answers that surprised me both with their simplicity and their sense of optimism.

Douglas hofstadter s book is concerned directly with the nature of maps or links between formal systems. It is one thing to analyze the relation between three applications their results in math, visual art, and music of selfreferencing thought, and quite another to analyze the entity doing the thinking. An eternal golden braid geb has been a cult book like hardly. In the end, we selfperceiving, selfinventing, lockedin mirages are little miracles of selfreference. In 1979 hofstadter a 34yearold professor of computer science at indiana university published a book called godel escher bach. Hofstadter showed how prime could be defined on the top of page 212.

These are the mysteries tackled in i am a strange loop, douglas hofstadter s first book length journey into philosophy since godel, escher, bach. So, for my next visit to a desert island, give me sun, sand, water and geb, and ill. I will also be happy to discuss any questions you have about geb cannot promise to answer, but i can tell you what i think, solutions to the puzzles in the book, or questions that reading geb raises. It turns out that an eerie type of chaos can lurk just behind a facade of order and yet, deep inside the chaos lurks an even eerier type of order. These are the mysteries tackled in i am a strange loop, douglas hofstadters first booklength journey into philosophy since godel, escher, bach. If you open up the 20th anniversary edition of geb, youll see that the first thing douglas hofstadter does in the introduction the very first thing is grouse that nobody seems to understand what his book is about. In this dialogue, they discuss modifying a tune to get different tunes but with the same ratio of note changes, e. In an interview to wiredmagazine a few years back, douglas r. Hofstadter was written in 2008 and is the authors follow up to godel, escher, bach, also known as geb.

Great find many of the versions listed on that site contain the same errors. Shortly after gebs smashing success, hofstadter and philosopher daniel dennett composed and arranged and, in 1981, published the minds i. Douglas richard hofstadter is an american scholar of cognitive science, physics, and comparative literature whose research focuses on consciousness, thinking and creativity. In some ways the structure of this book seems more standard, and perhaps less experimental, than hofstadter. Through illustration and analysis, the book discusses how selfreference and formal rules allow systems to acquire meaning. Winner of the pulitzer prize a metaphorical fugue on minds and machines in the spirit of lewis carroll douglas hofstadters book is concerned directly with the nature of maps or links between formal systems. This sentence contradicts itself no actually it doesnt.

Hofstadter, 9780465026562, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. It is a book that attempts to discover what self really means. 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. In an interview to wired magazine a few years back, douglas r. An eternal golden braid commonly geb is a pulitzer prizewinning book by douglas hofstadter, described as a metaphorical fugue on. On what geb is really all about from godel, escher, bach. Well, then, how about describing geb as a book that shows how math. Im too short on sleep to work on my book and too wired to take a nap. If you like hofstadter s writing, definitely check out his i am a strange loop, which is meant to more explicitly tie together all the concepts explored in geb. The man who would teach machines to think the atlantic. Hofstadter felt a need to write a new book because so many people misperceived geb as a hodgepodge of neat things with no central theme. Douglas hofstadter excerpts from hofstadter s books. This is the original 1979 version which is a direct scan of all the pages.

Jul 10, 2019 why isnt the douglas hofstadter book godel, escher, bach available as an. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 822 pages and is available in paperback format. Commonly referred to as geb, this book is a mesmerising meditation on consciousness, mathematics and creativity. Sep 10, 2009 in this presidential lecture, cognitive scientist douglas hofstadter examines the role and contributions of analogy in cognition, using a variety of analogies to illustrate his points. Most of hofstadters books feature some kind of structural alternation. The central idea is that of a strange loop, in which the same message is interpreted on multiple semantic levels. I am a strange loop 2007, basic books is written from a naturalistic perspective and hofstadter definitely isnt trying to prove gods existence, but he does thoroughly deconstruct the i and delivers step 2. Douglas hofstadter s godel, escher, bach is one of my favourite books.

And there is some new material, prompted by the untimely death of hofstadters beloved wife in 1993. An eternal golden braid, first published in 1979, won both the pulitzer prize for general nonfiction and a national book award at that time called the american book award for science. Hofstadter has had a long, interesting career in the field of interesting mathematics and links between theory and real life. Fantasies and reflections on self and soul, a marvelous collection of essays and short fiction, each piece followed by a reflection by one of the editors. Its mixture of logic, music and visual art blended the richness of the humanities and the rigor of the sciences in an altogether unforgettable confection that won a pulitzer prize.

I read geb as my subway book, back in 1999 during a work stint in paris, during my daily commute to work. A new book by douglas hofstadter does most of the work for me. 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. Douglas hofstadter excerpts from hofstadters books. I will not go any further in describing what geb is about and save that for a later time.

It is a philosophy book that reads like music, a work of art that many consider second to none. Escher and composer johann sebastian bach, geb expounds concepts fundamental to mathematics, symmetry, and intelligence. Compulsively readable and endlessly thoughtprovoking, this is a moving and profound inquiry into the nature of mind. An eternal golden braid commonly geb is a pulitzer prizewinning book by douglas hofstadter, described as a metaphorical fugue on minds and machines in the spirit of lewis carroll. But this is not necessarily a bad thing this actually makes it a good first book for the uninitiated. Are you interested in zen buddhism, math, fractals, logic, paradoxes, infinities, art, language, computer science, physics, music, intelligence, consciousness and unified theories. The most recent, published this year by basic, is douglas hofstadter s i am a strange loop.

Douglass hofstadters pi in the sky the washington post. Douglas grew up on the campus of stanford university, where his father was a professor. Years later, when i was looking for a change, i started thinking about geb. However, according to hofstadter, the formal system that underlies all mental activity transcends the system that supports it. Douglas hofstadters book is concerned directly with the nat.

Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Escher, and composer johann sebastian bach, the book expounds concepts fundamental to mathematics, symmetry, and intelligence. In this book, hofstadter observes that due to the attention that other aspects of geb garnered, the main point, that of strange loops being the origin of the human. A brief statement of the essence of hofstadters 2007 book, i am a strange loop and therefore of the essence of consciousness and inviduality. And there is some new material, prompted by the untimely death of hofstadter s beloved wife in 1993. Apr 20, 2007 so if you have questions about the analogues to bachs music hofstadter makes, i will be happy to try to answer them. Godel, escher, bach 20th anniversary edition douglas r. So geb is referenced in a book that geb itself refers to. By exploring common themes in the lives and works of logician kurt godel, artist m. The first edition of the novel was published in 1979, and was written by douglas r. An eternal golden braid is still something of a marvel. However, i dont yet see how factx could be defined given the allowed symbols in tnt. Douglas hofstadters book is concerned directly with the nature of maps or.

What do one mathematician, one artist, and one musician all have in common. Jan 05, 2014 i read geb as my subway book, back in 1999 during a work stint in paris, during my daily commute to work. The main characters of this science, non fiction story are. 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. If life can grow out of the formal chemical substrate of the cell, if consciousness can emerge out of a formal system of firing neurons, then so too will. Hofstadter is the son of nobel prizewinning physicist robert hofstadter. At the age of 34, he achieved national prominence with his first book, godel, escher, bach. Get ready to chase me down a rabbit hole into douglas hofstadters pulitzer prize winning book godel, escher, bach. When he was 27, douglas hofstadter wrote godel, escher, bach, a bestselling book loved by precocious teenagers and computer hackers. Douglas hofstadter, justifiably famous for godel, escher, bach wrote about the much trickier subject of mind and personal identity in this 2004 book. Escher and composer johann sebastian bach, discussing common themes in their work and lives. Most of i am a strange loop is recycled from douglas hofstadter s previous books, especially goedel escher bach or geb, to its friends. Douglas hofstadter gdel escher bach pdf bach made an impromptu visit to king frederick the great of prussia, and was.

Douglas hofstadter s classic nonfiction godel, escher, bach. Get ready to chase me down a rabbit hole into douglas hofstadter s pulitzer prize winning book godel, escher, bach. The idea of the strange loop is remarkably applicable to a wide range of ideas, and i think eric would lead a good conversation about it. In a place analogous to gebs interchapter dialogues, le ton beaus chapters are separated or joined.