Alma mater for mcdonnell and douglas of mcdonnell douglas. An eternal golden braid douglas hofstadter if you were to be marooned on a deserted island, and could bring three books, which ones would you choose. The hardcover of the godel, escher, bach by douglas r. Twenty years after it topped the bestseller charts, douglas r. An eternal golden braid, also known as geb, is a 1979 book by douglas hofstadter. Jul 29, 2010 this is a 4 minute clip from an mit lecture introducing the central theme of douglas r. Nhbs douglas r hofstadter, penguin books about help blog jobs established 1985 nhbs gmbh covid19.
Douglas hofstadters book is concerned straightforwardly with the way of maps or interfaces. Jul 20, 2012 there are many ways to read geb including attempting to divine the authors own subsequently stated intent. Godel, escher, bach was a triumphantly successful presentation of quite difficult concepts for a popular audience. I will not go any further in describing what geb is about and save that for a later time.
We had it good in godel, escher, bach, but now that thats over and done with, i have a feeling the pickings are going to be pretty slim. Douglas hofstadter godel, escher, bach lyrics and tracklist. Godel,escher,bachan enternal golden braid by douglas r. 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. An eternal golden braid was published by penguin uk in 2000. An eternal golden braid douglas hofstadter s book is concerned directly with the nature of maps or links between formal systems. Hofstadter konnyeden lepked az emberi szellem es a gondolkodo gepek kozt huzodo. This is a 4 minute clip from an mit lecture introducing the central theme of douglas r. It is also central to two classics of cognitive science. What seth godin said about g del, escher, bach by douglas. Hofstadter has 29 books on goodreads with 243069 ratings. A very personal attempt to say how it is that animate beings can come out of inanimate matter. Puzzle and puns are frequently used throughout the book and help in intellectually stimulating the readers minds.
This familiar question, suitable to get a dinner table conversation going, or to serve as an icebreaker among strangers, deserves careful consideration. Twenty years after it topped the bestseller charts, douglas r hofstadters godel, escher, bach. Full text of godel, escher, bach an eternal golden braid see other formats. More specifically, the book explores, through a series of dialogues and narrations, how symbols, thought and language. Hofstadter is the son of nobel prizewinning douglas richard hofstadter is an american scholar of cognitive science, physics, and comparative literature whose research focuses on consciousness, thinking and creativity. Les brins dune guirlande eternelle hofstadter, douglas on. Douglas hofstadter s book is concerned directly with the nature of maps or links between formal systems. The emperors new mind by roger penrose and godel, escher, bach. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. This book uses interlinked narratives that take place in the strange circumstances and between unusual characters. It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account hofstadter s law, and meaning lies as much in the mind of the reader as in the haiku. Jan, 2016 while godels theorem is highly abstract, it has important implications for such questions as, is the brain a computer. Douglas hofstadter combines and links the various themes associated with the characters in the title and some others in fascinating and imaginative ways.
Jun 18, 2012 yes, but be prepared for the disjointed journey raghavendra spoke of. Sometimes it seems as though each new step towards ai, rather than producing something which everyone agrees is real intelligence, merely reveals what real intelligence is not douglas r. Hofstadter and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Read texts from godel, escher, bach and join the genius community of scholars to learn the meaning behind the words. Hofstadter is college of arts and sciences professor of cognitive science and computer science at indiana university, bloomington, where he likewise coordinates the center for research on concepts and cognition. Intelligence, art, music, and life are a strange loop. Click and collect from your local waterstones or get free uk delivery on orders over. Godel, escher, bach by douglas hofstadter abebooks. By exploring common themes in the lives and works of logician kurt godel, artist m. Douglas grew up on the campus of stanford university, where his father was a professor.
It has a youthful vitality and a wonderful brilliance, and i think that it may. Lets face it, achilles you and i at least in these hofstadterian versions of ourselves come to life only when hofstadter writes dialogues about us. 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. As i work my way through this dense book, i am reminded of the zen tale of 4 blind men and an elephant. I found my copy used, with withered pages and a somewhat aged spine. Dec 24, 2015 godel,escher,bachan enternal golden braid by douglas r.
There has been nothing like it in computer science before or since. Douglas hofstadter is an american author who has written several books about philosophy, mathematics, and science. Every few decades an unknown author brings outa book of such depth, clarity, range, wit, beauty. Ernest davis, new york university recently, while trying, like everyone else, to think deep thoughts about deep blue, i recalled a. 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. This is the riddle that drove hofstadter to write this extraordinary book.
Raneztek a harom szora godel, escher, bach es ha tudtak, hogy ki volt ez a harom ember, akkor. His new book, as brilliant and provocative as earlier ones, is a colorful mix of speculations with passages of autobiography. Hofstadters book is concerned directly with the nature of. To settle a dispute between townspeople over religion, the zen master had 4 blind men and an elephant led in. Godel escher bach by hofstadter, first edition abebooks. 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. Copernicus center for interdisciplinary studies 260,730 views. 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.
An eternal golden braid by hofstadter, douglas and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. The main characters of this science, non fiction story are. Sep 21, 2011 godel, escher, bach is easily my favourite book, and has been for the thirtyodd years since i first read it. 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. 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. An eternal golden braid by douglas hofstadter is an intricate and complex study of strange loops, metaconcepts in general and their connection to selfawareness and intelligence.
Escher, and composer johann sebastian bach, the book expounds concepts fundamental to mathematics, symmetry, and intelligence. Hofstadter is the son of nobel prizewinning physicist robert hofstadter. An eternal golden braid is still something of a marvel. Douglas hofstadters book is concerned directly with the nature of maps or links between formal systems. Ernest davis, ieee expert i have never seen anything quite like this book. 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. In order of their presentation in chapter iii on figures and background figurefigure sequence and chapter v on recursive structures and processes remaining sequences, these sequences are. 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. An eternal golden braid douglas hofstadters book is concerned directly with the nature of maps or links between formal systems. Full text of godel, escher, bach an eternal golden braid. 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. What is a self, and how can a self come out of inaminate matter.
Introduction to godel, escher, bach lecture youtube. However, according to hofstadter, the formal system that underlies all mental activity transcends the system that supports it. Dec 02, 2012 sir roger penrose, aeons before the big bang copernicus center lecture 2010 duration. Escher and composer johann sebastian bach, geb expounds concepts fundamental to mathematics, symmetry, and intelligence.
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