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. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. The book is, like most of hofstadter s previous works, a discussion of the nature of consciousness, the meaning of self, and the possibility of artificial. In this dialogue, they discuss modifying a tune to get different tunes but with the same ratio of note changes, e. An eternal golden braid has widened the eyes of multiple generations of nerdy kids, and i was certainly no exception. His previous books are the pulitzer prizewinning godel, escher, bach. In the basic canon, the first voice enters, and after a period, the second voice enters at the same beginning as the first, layering on top of each other. Is there any way to read hofstadters godel escher bach and. There are also more complicated canons, where the second voice may enter at a different pitch as well. A selfreferential column about last januarys column about selfreference. 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. The crab canon is the first of several twopart canons in the musical offering. Another incredibly complex dialogue from douglas hofstadter. Full text of godel, escher, bach an eternal golden braid.
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. But i am afraid that i will always feel bach is superior to escher. Douglas richard hofstadter is an american scholar of cognitive science, physics, and comparative literature whose research focuses on consciousness, thinking and creativity. Douglas hofstadter canon by intervallic augmentation genius. Hofstadter is college professor of cognitive science and computer science at indiana university, bloomington, indiana. In a canon, a single theme is played against itself.
Douglas hofstadter, a more contemporary formcontent aficionado as well as a bach fanatic like myself, weaves together elements of the form of bachs crab canon, an m. Dec 21, 2017 ill tell you the story of how i read geb. Eschers crab canon engraving, and hofstadters own crab canon dialogue geb, pp. The book draws all sorts of parallels between music, art, math, and. Winner of the pulitzer prizea metaphorical fugue on minds and machines in the spirit of lewis carrolldouglas hofstadter s book is concerned directly with the nature of maps or links between formal systems. I was a fan of martin gardner and was looking through his books in the mathematics section when she picked up an enormous book with an impossible tri. Hofstadter, a noted author, cognitive scientist and proud stanford son, returns to stanford in february, 2006, with a lecture called analogy as the core of cognition. Through illustration and analysis, the book discusses.
These are the mysteries tackled in i am a strange loop, douglas hofstadters first booklength journey into philosophy since godel, escher, bach. Escher, and composer johann sebastian bach, the book expounds concepts fundamental to mathematics, symmetry, and intelligence. Oct 09, 2011 by douglas hofstadter 1979 the title promises looks at kurt godel, m. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read. 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. A crab canon for douglas hofstadter 3 quarks daily.
An eternal golden braid is still something of a marvel. Hofstadter this book told me something about intelligence the smartest thing to do is to avoid this book s overly lengthy babblings of a self important graduate student who is way too impressed with himself it took this guy over 700 pages to illustrate by analogy his not particularly novel theory which he. Godel, escher, bach won the 1980 pulitzer prize for general nonfiction. Douglas hofstadter s book is concerned directly with the nature of maps or links between formal systems. Earlier diaries are here today well discuss crab canon pages 199203 i will leave the nex. Theres a section in the middle describing a figure in the book which disrupts the dialogue so skip over that. Hofstadter is college of arts and sciences professor of cognitive science, and director of the center for research on concepts and cognition, at indiana university. When i first came across a type of poetry called a crab canon, i was. Douglas r hofstadter douglas hofstadter s book is concerned directly with the nature of maps or links between formal systems.
An eternal golden braid published initally over 20 years ago debates, beautifully, the question of consciousness and the possibility of artificial. Hofstadter uses crab canon as a jumping off point to explain number theory. The book draws all sorts of parallels between music, art, math, and computer science, ultimately shaping them into a bold thesis about how consciousness arises. Fantasies and reflections on self and soul by douglas r. By exploring common themes in the lives and works of logician kurt godel, artist m. An eternal golden braid commonly geb is a pulitzer prize winning book by douglas hofstadter, described as a metaphorical fugue on minds and machines in the spirit of lewis carroll.
In it, hofstadter wrote a dialogue between the tortoise and achilles that he called crab canon after bachs music because the dialogue is presented in one order, and then repeated in reverse order. Escher, in a gallery the other day, and i fully appreciate the beauty and ingenuity with which he made one single theme mesh with itself going both backwards and forwards. The film is inspired by the crab canon presented in douglas r. An eternal golden braid is a classic text thats had a strong influence on countless people.
Music performed by xantox with post flemish harpsichord, upper manual. Achilles and the tortoise have just finished a delicious chinese banquet for two, at the best chinese restaurant in town. Readings godel, escher, bach experimental study group. Hofstadter isnt too shy to reveal both his devices themselves and, later. But speaking of taste, i finally saw that crab canon by your favorite artist, m. Crab canon hofstadter s entire dialogue structure emerged from writing a dialogue based on the musical offerings crab canon canon cancrizans. Douglas hofstadter the prizes, pulitzer, 1980 national book awards 1980. An eternal golden braid, jos leys, mobius strip, musical offering, open culture, psychonaut the most impressive of johann sebastian bachs pieces, musicophiles may have told you, will knock you over with their ingeniousness, or at least their sheer complexity. I was 12 years old, in foyles bookshop with my mother. Seaside canon, for douglas hofstadter raw audio sample.
The dialogue makes use of several words with multiple meanings, e. This canon was conceived after serendipitously finding a poem written by julia galef, who kindly granted me. Escher his 1965 work crab canon and doug hofstadter his pulitzer prize winning godel, escher, bach. Godel,escher,bachan enternal golden braid by douglas r. Written by douglas hofstadter, this book won the pulitzer prize, and. Hofstadter douglas hofstadter s book is concerned directly with the nature of maps or links between formal systems. In 1979 hofstadter a 34yearold professor of computer science at indiana university published a book called godel escher bach. This time structured around a musical device employed by bach called a crab canon.
Dec 24, 2015 douglas hofstadter is teacher of software engineering and psychological science at indiana university. Hofstadter, well beyond having given him a word to fill out the books title. Hofstadter points out that the structures called palindromes in dna are the same. Sep 21, 2011 discover book depositorys huge selection of douglas hofstadter books online. A palindromic poem for douglas hofstadter julia galef. Eschers crab canon engraving, and hofstadter s own crab canon dialogue geb, pp. Twenty years after it topped the bestseller charts, douglas r. Jul 04, 2018 douglas hofstadters book godel, escher, bach. Bach made an impromptu visit to king frederick the great of prussia, and was. Compulsively readable and endlessly thoughtprovoking, this is a moving and profound inquiry into the nature of mind. This crab canon is different from my previous crab canon in the following aspects. Hofstadter douglas hofstadters book is concerned directly with the nature of maps or links between formal systems.
A crab canon is an arrangement of two things that are complementary and backward, similar to a palindrome. Hofstadter and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Escher and johann sebastian bach, and this crazy, complicated, smart, fun book delivers. It is a book that attempts to discover what self really means. Oct 09, 2014 the first example i could find of writing that was called a crab canon was in the book godel, escher, bach by douglas hofstadter. In it, hofstadter wrote a dialogue between the tortoise and achilles that he called crab canon after. One of those dialogues, titled crab canon, seems puzzling when you. Why i dont love godel, escher, bach infinite negative utility. It was published by basic books and has a total of 824 pages in the book. Hofstadter is the son of nobel prizewinning douglas richard hofstadter is an american scholar of cognitive science, physics, and comparative literature whose research. The title of this book is godel, escher, bach and it was written by douglas r. Its also a very playful book, full of puzzles, puns, and imagined dialogues between achilles and a tortoise which weave in and out of the main.
Douglas hofstadter excerpts from hofstadter s books. An eternal golden braid which won the pulitzer prize for nonfiction. Escher, in a gallery the other day, and i fully appreciate the beauty and ingenuity with which he made one single theme mesh with itself going both backwards. Inspired by the goedel, escher, bach book of douglas hofstadter and by. Hofstadter posted on july 2, 2010 by goobes under awesome books at goobes book republic, goobes, non fiction godel, escher, bach. The book opens with the story of bachs musical offering. A talk with the most remarkable researcher in artificial intelligence today, douglas hofstadter, the author of godel, escher, bach wired magazine, november 1995 consciousness in the cosmos. It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account hofstadters law. However, according to hofstadter, the formal system that underlies all mental activity transcends the system that supports it.
After typing all that out, i came across this excerpt from the book. Seaside canon, for douglas hofstadter raw audio sample values. Listen to the first canon from bachs musical offering. The book is, like most of hofstadters previous works, a discussion of the nature of consciousness, the meaning of self, and the possibility of artificial. 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. It is a philosophy book that reads like music, a work of art that many consider second to none. 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.
Achilles and the tortoise happen upon each other in the park one day while strolling. Im too short on sleep to work on my book and too wired to take a nap. Hofstadter twenty years after it topped the bestseller charts, douglas r. Full text of godel, escher, bach an eternal golden braid see other formats. However, this normally does not refer to nonfiction books, especially scientific ones. The tagline a metaphorical fugue on minds and machines in the spirit of lewis carroll was used by the publisher to describe the book. It is perhaps the densest dialogue in the book in terms of formal trickery and. One dialogue in the book is written in the form of a crab canon, in which every line before the midpoint corresponds to an identical line. Crab canon from godel, escher, bach by douglas hofstadter, vintage books, 1980 achilles and the tortoise happen upon each other in the park one day while strolling.
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