Godel, Escher, Bach

[RebelSansCause]

a friend recommended this to me, it looks incredible yet daunting. is it worth my time? i love the sound of the concept but on the other hand i should be reading Civilization and Its Discontents as well as Confessions for class. so anyone have an opinion on this book?

[babylonsister]

1. Hell, and here I thought Escher was an artist. I hope you aren't

talking about pictures! I kid! :hi:

[RebelSansCause]

2. so have you read the book? i guess not :( n/t

[babylonsister]

6. No, sorry. Just trying to inject a bit of humor. Sorry it was so poorly

received.

He was fabulous!

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=Escher&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

[RebelSansCause]

7. oh not poorly recieved at all, my own post was in fact one mocking and

dry at the clear and shameful blatant attempt at humor you made. which makes it all the more funny to me. :hi: to good humor, i toast you. :toast:

[toddaa]

3. Daunting, but definitely worth it

You'll never refer to yourself the same way again.

[Jim__]

4. I'd say its worth the effort.

It's been a long time since I read it. As I remember it, some chapters were a bit tedious and hard to get through. But, overall, well-worth the read.

[Bruce McAuley]

5. Read, "I am a Strange Loop" instead...

Doug Hofstadter is a fine writer, and his latest book, "I Am A Strange Loop" goes further than "Godel, Escher, Bach" did, and it was printed this year. "GEB" was published in 1979.
See this Wikipedia entry,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_a_Strange_Loop
Don't get too hung up on the concepts, just follow along, he's a good writer.

Bruce

[bullimiami]

8. i wanted to be able to read it.

its a brilliant notion.

i love bach and escher had no idea who godel was so I started to read it. and started again. and browsed some of the bits.
and started again. and gave up.

i dont know if the eternal golden braid was just too much for my feeble brain or if its just too abstract for most everyone.
give it a go and let me know.

[RebelSansCause]

9. godel was a mathematician, actually a logical mathematician, also good friend with Einstein

i mean i obviously just started it but it seems extremely interesting. my friend said that me being both a physics AND a philosophy major it would be something that i would truly enjoy. then again, i really like abstract concepts. but we shall see and i shall indeed report back.

[bullimiami]

10. if you revel in abstract this book should be comfortable for you.

i had never heard of godel when i first got the book which was many years ago. i looked him up of course to see what he was about.

[bananas]

13. If you are a physics and philosophy major, you mus learn Godel's Incompleteness Theorem

and please learn the proper pronunciation of "Godel" - it sounds like "girdle" with a silent "r".

[eppur_se_muova]

11. Try reading a chapter or two at a time, with breaks in between.

Interruptions won't hurt (much), as the splits into chapters are very well organized.

[bananas]

12. Yes, you should also read Penrose and Smolin

among others...
too many authors, too little time...

[LeftishBrit]

14. Hofstadter is a very interesting writer, and the book has been VERY popular

I have to admit that I find the book rather daunting and rambling myself, and prefer his later books: "The Mind's I" (with Dennett); "Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies"; and his essay collection "Metamagical Themas". Bear in mind that I'm an academic psychologist with relatively little knowledge of or interest in the *theory* of art and music, though I love both Escher and Bach themselves; so I prefer the books where the psychology/philosophy of mind is presented without the other adornments. Others may prefer the first book!

[CrispyQ]

15. I loved "The Mind's Eye."

I've started GEB a few times & haven't progressed far, but someday, perhaps?

[JitterbugPerfume]

16. I read it a while back

interesting