An eternal golden braid reissue by hofstadter, douglas r. Both books are complex, with discursive passages on mathematics and a positively weird sense of humor. Winner of the pulitzer prizea metaphorical fugue on minds and machines in the spirit of lewis. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Gilbert and susan gubar yale the medusa and the snail, by lewis thomas viking. This year is the 40th anniversary of the publication of one of the cult books of my generation. Hofstadter overview 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. Intelligence, art, music, and life are a strange loop. Written by douglas r hofstadter, godel, escher, bach. Hofstadter is the son of nobel prizewinning physicist robert hofstadter. 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.
An eternal golden braid by hofstadter, douglas and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 822 pages and is available in paperback format. Bach, escher and godels strange loops may have the answer. Douglas hofstadter is college of arts and sciences professor of cognitive science and computer science at indiana university, bloomington. An eternal golden braid, also known as geb, is a 1979 book by douglas hofstadter. Godel, escher, bach is a wonderful exploration of fascinating ideas at the heart of cognitive science. For hofstadter, consciousness emerge as what he calls a strange loop. Douglas grew up on the campus of stanford university, where his father was a professor. Douglas hofstadter combines and links the various themes associated with the characters in the title and some others in fascinating and imaginative ways. Books in the bibliography of godel, escher, bach by douglas. Godel, escher, bach is easily my favourite book, and has been for the thirtyodd years since i first read it. The main characters of this science, non fiction story are. 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.
Douglas richard hofstadter born february 15, 1945 is an american professor of cognitive science whose research focuses on the sense of i, consciousness, analogymaking, artistic creation, literary translation, and discovery in mathematics and physics. His previous books are the pulitzer prizewinning godel, escher, bach. In some ways, godel, escher, bach is an entire humanistic education between the covers of a. An eternal golden braid by douglas r hofstadter, basic books, 1979. Hofstadters great achievement in godel, escher, bach was making abstruse mathematical topics like undecidability, recursion, and strange loops accessible and remarkably entertaining. By exploring common themes in the lives and works of logician kurt godel, artist m. Escher, dali, and the artists of optical illusion by. Winner of the pulitzer prizea metaphorical fugue on minds and machines in the spirit of lewis carrolldouglas hofstadters book is concerned directly with the nature of maps or links between formal systems.
If you are willing to put in the work to understand it, your mind will be blown. Douglas hofstadters godel, escher, bach geb youtube. 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. However, according to hofstadter, the formal system that underlies all mental activity transcends the system that supports it. 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. Hofstadters clean, lucid prose offers a deeper understanding of the topics covered in this book. I enjoyed it and found it very fun and informative, overall. If life can grow out of the formal chemical substrate of the. Godel, escher, bach is an entire humanistic education between the covers of a single book. I can only warmly invite the reader to take the time to enjoy this book a gr friend of mine stated that this is one of the very few books that he did read twice, and i perfectly understand why.
Hofstadter has 29 books on goodreads with 243069 ratings. Douglas hofstadters book is concerned directly with the nature of maps or links between formal systems. Twenty years after it topped the bestseller charts, douglas r. Hofstadter douglas hofstadters book is concerned directly with the nature of maps or links between formal systems.
The first edition of the novel was published in 1979, and was written by douglas r. Everybodys favorite is the concept of entropy, a measure of disorder in thermodynamics. Douglas richard hofstadter born february 15, 1945 is an american professor of cognitive science whose research focuses on the sense of i, 2 3 consciousness, analogymaking, artistic creation, literary translation, and discovery in mathematics and physics. But in a deeper sense, the match between deep blue and kasparov proves. Hofstadter and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. This playlist contains supplementary materials for the book godel, escher, bach geb by douglas hofstadter. 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. Nominated as finalists in general nonfiction in 1980. Chris hildrey is inspired by godel, escher, bach ribaj.
Douglass hofstadters pi in the sky the washington post. Read more read less free expedited delivery and up to 30% off rrp on select textbooks shipped and sold by amazon au. In terms of both content and method, godel, escher, bach has been a real source of inspiration in how to examine a problem in an unconstrained way. An eternal golden braid, also known as geb, is a book by douglas. 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. Douglas hofstadter, the pulitzer prizewinning author of godel, escher. Godel, escher and bach, written by douglas hofstadter, while the title would suggest it is discussion of a mathematician, an artist, and a composer, is a complex examination of how human beings develop perception and meaning.
The man who would teach machines to think the atlantic. Librarything is a cataloging and social networking site for booklovers. He exemplifies this by providing examples of loops in backs music, eschers sketches, and godels theorems. Douglas hofstadters book is concerned directly with the nat. Godel, escher, back contains many ideas in different areas. Godel, escher, bach by douglas hofstadter alltime 100.
In 1979, a cult book by douglas hofstadter explored consciousness via a. Godel escher bach by douglas r hofstadter abebooks. However, it seems to me that those ideas are all tied on a single question. Hofstadter carries within it the seed of an answer to your skepticism.
Douglas hofstadter project gutenberg selfpublishing. 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. Godel escher bach by hofstadter, first edition abebooks. But anyone used to reading douglas hofstadter will have learned to put up with. An eternal golden braid is an intellectual treatise on the ways by which thinking and cognitive abilities emerge from logical constructions. Hofstadter, 9780465026562, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. An eternal golden braid is still something of a marvel. Escher, and composer johann sebastian bach, the book expounds concepts fundamental to mathematics, symmetry, and intelligence.
178 445 658 641 238 160 64 206 817 1081 751 435 870 628 690 374 69 1499 622 940 538 1096 662 124 1112 774 1309 676 130 1085 1453 960 605 646 1295 157 1106 530 936