Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid
by Douglas R. Hofstadter
Trying to describe this book to someone is like trying to explain a rainbow to a blind person. Trying to understand it is the intellectual equivalent of running a marathon. But let it be known that this book will change your life. The ideas presented and the way they are presented will change your perceptions permanently. You will feel like an enlightened ambassador to this world of ignorant fools once you have mastered this book. This book is the key to a world of ideas you always knew existed but could never quite get a finger on what they actually were.
What then, is so special about the ideas in this book? The author himself admits it is difficult to articulate, and he poses a number of questions whose answers he says are the thesis of this book. The subtitle is A metaphorical fugue on minds and machines in the spirit of Lewis Carroll, and as such, metaphor is often used as the medium for doing so. Perhaps the best way to sum up these questions is: How can inanimate symbols form dynamic, heirarchical systems? (i.e. how does life, DNA, thought, and everything else in the world work?) The book explains the logical underpinnings of formal systems in explicit detail and how their isomorphisms relate to the world around us, amoung a host of other things. It covers ideas as diverse as number theory, Zen philosophy, chemistry, DNA/RNA transcription/translation, neurological networks, how thought and conciousness work, artificial intelligence. The book is also peppered with metaphorical stories in which Carroll's tortoise and Achilles demonstrate or introduce many of the fundamental concepts in the book, as well as entertain the reader. Also included are analyses of Bach's music and myraids of lithographs by M.C. Escher to help illustrate the author's point and provide more food for thought.
This, of course, is a mere taste of the ideas GED uncovers, but hopefully this description alone will spur you to immediately purchase and read this essential book for the curious intellectual.
by Douglas R. Hofstadter
Trying to describe this book to someone is like trying to explain a rainbow to a blind person. Trying to understand it is the intellectual equivalent of running a marathon. But let it be known that this book will change your life. The ideas presented and the way they are presented will change your perceptions permanently. You will feel like an enlightened ambassador to this world of ignorant fools once you have mastered this book. This book is the key to a world of ideas you always knew existed but could never quite get a finger on what they actually were.
What then, is so special about the ideas in this book? The author himself admits it is difficult to articulate, and he poses a number of questions whose answers he says are the thesis of this book. The subtitle is A metaphorical fugue on minds and machines in the spirit of Lewis Carroll, and as such, metaphor is often used as the medium for doing so. Perhaps the best way to sum up these questions is: How can inanimate symbols form dynamic, heirarchical systems? (i.e. how does life, DNA, thought, and everything else in the world work?) The book explains the logical underpinnings of formal systems in explicit detail and how their isomorphisms relate to the world around us, amoung a host of other things. It covers ideas as diverse as number theory, Zen philosophy, chemistry, DNA/RNA transcription/translation, neurological networks, how thought and conciousness work, artificial intelligence. The book is also peppered with metaphorical stories in which Carroll's tortoise and Achilles demonstrate or introduce many of the fundamental concepts in the book, as well as entertain the reader. Also included are analyses of Bach's music and myraids of lithographs by M.C. Escher to help illustrate the author's point and provide more food for thought.
This, of course, is a mere taste of the ideas GED uncovers, but hopefully this description alone will spur you to immediately purchase and read this essential book for the curious intellectual.
