An eternal golden braid, also known as geb, is a 1979 book by douglas hofstadter. However, according to hofstadter, the formal system that underlies all mental activity. If you like godel, escher, bach you might like similar books darwin among the machines. I found my copy used, with withered pages and a somewhat aged spine. I also love reading about all of those fields of inquiry. Secret history kurt godel and the secrets of genius and abstraction. I love line equations and finding slope intercept form, because i understand it. Like a kidnapping victim who falls in love with his captor, these books capture and sequester my mind for so long that i begin to feel deluded that i love them more than anything else in the world. The 20th anniversary edition of godel, escher, bach. Just thirty, with a wellpaid job, depression and no love life, the narrator and. What are some books similar to godel, escher, bach. Hofstadters great achievement in godel, escher, bach was making abstruse mathematical topics like undecidability. Martin gardner, scientific american in some ways, godel, escher, bach is an entire humanistic education between the covers of a single book.
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. Its definitely in my top 10 of books about fairy tales, classical music and. It does give an introduction to godels theorems, bachs music and eschers art, but the underlying theme is more general, related to abstract formal systems and their capabilities. Ernest davis, new york university recently, while trying, like everyone else, to think deep thoughts about deep blue, i recalled a. I even love the way that the ending of that book pisses me off every. I consider both among my absolute favourite books, but for very different reasons. This critically acclaimed book won the pulitzer prize in the nonfiction category and the national book award for science. A very personal attempt to say how it is that animate beings can come out of inanimate matter. Like a kidnapping victim who falls in love with his captor, these books. May 01, 2005 because godel made so much of selfreference and paradox, previous books about his work like douglas hofstadters godel, escher, bach tend to emphasize the playfulness of his ideas.
An eternal golden braid book online at best prices in india on. This drawing was apparently made during that period, while attending a talk that he didnt like. 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 computers attain human intelligence. Questing for the essence of mind and pattern by douglas r. Books so big, like bricks, you could drown yourself in a pool with them if youre not careful. Godel, escher, bach curious if anyone has read this book, i have found it to be fascinating and i am curious if there are any suggestions to the next book i may find that correlates with this one. Escher, bach was making abstruse mathematical topics like undecidability. Hofstadters great achievement in godel, escher, bach was making abstruse mathematical topics like undecidability, recursion, and strange loops accessible and remarkably entertaining. An eternal golden braid is the best ebook you want.
Douglas hofstadters book is concerned directly with the nature of maps or links between formal systems. That question has hounded me ever since i was scribbling its first drafts in pen, way back in 1973. 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. Then i read godel, escher, bach and realized that i didnt even begin to. The acceleration of just about everything, the mystery of the aleph. Ive read a lot of lovecraft and lovecraftian horror in 2019 so id like to stay take a break from that.
I guess the most classic example is the lottery, but id like something in the form of a book rather than a short story. Dec 12, 20 these are very different books, despite i am a strange loop being a retelling of geb. But then, im biased i loved her so, and still and still i do. Computer models of the fundamental mechanisms of thought by douglas r. Godel escher bach by hofstadter, first edition abebooks. Basic books has sold the paperback rights to douglas hofstadters. Goodreads members who liked godel, escher, bach also liked. It explores the question of whether computers will ever be able to think like people. Librarything is a cataloging and social networking site for booklovers. An eternal golden braid, also known as geb, by douglas r. An eternal golden braid from the worlds largest community of readers. Godel, escher, bach is a book by douglas hofstadter.
Talking salsa with douglas hofstadter, enigmatic author of. This post is part of a series in which influencers describe the books. Why i dont love godel, escher, bach infinite negative. If it helps so far my favorite chapter in uzumaki has been the jack in the box chapter. Mathematics, the kabbalah, and the search for infinity, mind and nature, the act of creation. An eternal golden braid is a classic text thats had a strong influence on countless people. An eternal golden braid by douglas hofstadter basic books, 1979. Godel, escher, bach is a wonderful exploration of fascinating ideas at the heart of cognitive science. Escher, and composer johann sebastian bach, the book expounds concepts fundamental to mathematics, symmetry, and intelligence. Godel, escher, bach was a triumphantly successful presentation of quite difficult concepts for a popular audience. Im really feeling japanese horror and would love a haunted housefacility or even city.
Is it still worth reading godel, escher, bach by douglas r. Ive been really feeling the silent hillgrudgefatal frame vibe. It has a youthful vitality and a wonderful brilliance, and i think that it may become something of a classic. Twenty years after it topped the bestseller charts, douglas r. The book godel, escher, bach geb is an imaginative exploration of the nature of consciousness, as seen through the metaphorical lenses of mathematician kurt godels selfreferential logic, artist m. He is an american author who has written several books about philosophy, mathematics, and science.
You can get any ebooks you wanted like godel, escher, bach. Find books like godel, escher, bach from the worlds largest community of readers. I read in bed and dont really want a book about math, a programming language, or development methodologyi love such books. An eternal golden braid, one of the most captivating books i have ever read. Jun 24, 2015 talking salsa with douglas hofstadter, enigmatic author of godel, escher, bach the cognitive scientist douglas hofstadter is well known for his pioneering work on artificial intelligence, his brilliant writing about language and identity, and for his classic, pulitzer prizewinning book, godel, escher, bach.
This is a hard one to describe but i always enjoy rnosleep stories where the setting features a small town where something is off or creepy. There are many ways to read geb including attempting to divine the authors own subsequently stated intent. Hofstadter and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. 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. Hofstadter was the most challenging nonfiction book that i have ever read. As someone else has brought up in a different thread, teaching math is like.
Hofstadter examines several different translations of the victorian author lewis carrols celebrated nonsense lyric jabberwocky from through the lookingglass and what alice. There has been nothing like it in computer science before or since. Godel, escher, bach is the type of book that one is lucky to read once in a lifetime. What finally emerged, in 1979, was godel, escher, bach. However, the recordplayers in this metaphor dont actually work like recordplayers in. I think richard hamming would tell me to tell you that. Many people count it as one of their very favorite books. An eternal golden braid in simple step and you can save it now. Jan 05, 2014 in the same way that bachs music, eschers art, or godels proof cannot go out of date, they can only become dated. Mar 30, 2000 twenty years after it topped the bestseller charts, douglas r hofstadters godel, escher, bach. Jul 04, 2018 douglas hofstadters book godel, escher, bach. By exploring common themes in the lives and works of logician kurt godel, artist m.
Not including notes, my version of the book contained 737 very dense pages. Only you can decide if your time would be more richly spent on something else, but i suspect the answer is yes, reading geb is probably a good use of your time. A new journey into hofstadters mind scientific american. Everybodys favorite is the concept of entropy, a measure of disorder in thermodynamics. Godel, escher, bach book club, december 2017 youtube. I bought the 20th anniversary edition after the first read, its a must for rereading. An eternal golden braid is still something of a marvel. The book attempts to put forward the outline of a theory of intelligence, by drawing from an incredibly wide array of disciplines not just the three mathematics, art and music, which are implied by the title but also logical systems, computer science, genetics there are.
However, the recordplayers in this metaphor dont actually work like record players in. This post is part of a series in which influencers describe the books that. The name of the comic is a portmanteaulike play on the following. An eternal golden braid was published by penguin uk in 2000. Dec 28, 2017 godel, escher, bach is a wonderful exploration of fascinating ideas at the heart of cognitive science. An eternal golden braid, the logician douglas hofstadter provides examples of individual languages aural spirit. 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. I love their spines lined up on the bookshelf, staring back at me, waiting. Which should i read, i am a strange loop or godel escher bach. What are some books that revolve around the topics of maths. About the same time i read godel, escher, bach i also fell in love with a book called the recursive universe by. I just purchased i am a strange loop by douglas, also i am planning on reading the minds i. Godel, escher, bach is really something unique and special. Why i dont love godel, escher, bach infinite negative utility.
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