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4.31 AVERAGE
4.31 AVERAGE
I loved the first half of GEB, and I loved all of the dialogues between Achilles and the tortoise. I would never have guessed that reading about a piece of music could be more fun than listening to it, but Hofstadter’s descriptions of fugues are absolutely beautiful.
I was reminded of The Glass Bead Game, which I never actually finished. Herman Hesse describes a game that incorporates musical composition and high-level math. Hesse’s description of the game was very vague, and left me unsatisfied. Hofstadter describes what is essentially a real-life version of the glass bead game in vivid detail, and leaves me in awe of all three of his subjects.
I got fairly confused during the chapter about BlooP and FlooP, so I skimmed it, not thinking that any one chapter would matter that much. Apparently, all of the subsequent chapters built on those concepts, so I ended up getting very lost and bored throughout the second half of the book. I understand the gist of the second half of the book -- any system advanced enough to describe itself will inevitably have internal contradictions -- but Hofstadter went into a lot more detail, and most of it went over my head.
I was reminded of The Glass Bead Game, which I never actually finished. Herman Hesse describes a game that incorporates musical composition and high-level math. Hesse’s description of the game was very vague, and left me unsatisfied. Hofstadter describes what is essentially a real-life version of the glass bead game in vivid detail, and leaves me in awe of all three of his subjects.
I got fairly confused during the chapter about BlooP and FlooP, so I skimmed it, not thinking that any one chapter would matter that much. Apparently, all of the subsequent chapters built on those concepts, so I ended up getting very lost and bored throughout the second half of the book. I understand the gist of the second half of the book -- any system advanced enough to describe itself will inevitably have internal contradictions -- but Hofstadter went into a lot more detail, and most of it went over my head.
challenging
informative
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
informative
slow-paced
This book tries to explain the basis of intelligence and the human mind by pulling from mathematics, philosophy, music theory, computer science, literary reference, and modern art. It's incredible. The use of alternating dialogues meant to demonstrate self-reference, infinite regress and the fluidity of language actually do wonders to help guide you through what are admittedly dense, slippery concepts. I consider myself well-read in terms of high level science reading and some of the Gödel segments were still testing my patience. That said, I don't think you need to be a STEMlord to enjoy this book, Hofstadter explains things in a digestible, sometimes funny way. Lots of pictures. Fun book
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Kapitel XVI
Selbst-Ref und Selbst-Rep
Der Ursprung des Lebens
Wenn man sich dieser unglaublich verzwicken, ineinandergreifenden Stücke von Hardware und Sofware bewußt geworden ist, stellt sich eine auf der Hand liegende und fundamentale Frage: ,Wie hat das überhaupt angefangen?' Es ist doch eine wahrlich rätselhafte Sache. Man muß sich einen Prozeß der Art 'An-den-Haaren-aus-dem-Sumpf ziehen' vorstellen, etwa so wie der bei der Entwicklung neuer Computersprachen verwendete - aber ein solcher Vorgang von einfachen Molekülen zu ganzen Zellen ist kaum vorstellbar. Über die Entstehung des Lebens gibt es verschiedene Theorien. Sie alle scheitern bei der zentralsten aller zentralen Fragen: 'Wie ist der Genetische Code zusammen mit den Mechanismen für seine Übersetzung (Ribsome und tRNS-Moleküle) entstanden?' Vorerst müssen wir uns mit einem Gefühl des Staunes und Ehrfurcht begnügen. Und vielleicht sind Staunen und Ehrfurcht zufriedenstellender als der Besitz einer Antwort -zumindest für eine gewise Zeit.
Seite 584
Selbst-Ref und Selbst-Rep
Der Ursprung des Lebens
Wenn man sich dieser unglaublich verzwicken, ineinandergreifenden Stücke von Hardware und Sofware bewußt geworden ist, stellt sich eine auf der Hand liegende und fundamentale Frage: ,Wie hat das überhaupt angefangen?' Es ist doch eine wahrlich rätselhafte Sache. Man muß sich einen Prozeß der Art 'An-den-Haaren-aus-dem-Sumpf ziehen' vorstellen, etwa so wie der bei der Entwicklung neuer Computersprachen verwendete - aber ein solcher Vorgang von einfachen Molekülen zu ganzen Zellen ist kaum vorstellbar. Über die Entstehung des Lebens gibt es verschiedene Theorien. Sie alle scheitern bei der zentralsten aller zentralen Fragen: 'Wie ist der Genetische Code zusammen mit den Mechanismen für seine Übersetzung (Ribsome und tRNS-Moleküle) entstanden?' Vorerst müssen wir uns mit einem Gefühl des Staunes und Ehrfurcht begnügen. Und vielleicht sind Staunen und Ehrfurcht zufriedenstellender als der Besitz einer Antwort -zumindest für eine gewise Zeit.
Seite 584
Ironically, its own attempts to weave a single theme leave it without a strong sense of coherence or unity - Hofstadter himself admits that the point is obscured here, which is apparently why he wrote the follow-up. This book is fun and unique, but undeniably self-indulgent and occasionally quite tedious. It's great to see such a wide synthesis of ideas, but the connections Hofstadter makes are often a stretch - if you flick through the book, you'll see all sorts of provocative diagrams and images, but their relevance is usually marginal, strained or trivial.
What a fantastic book!! Probably the most unique and original book I have read in a while! It's up there with The Selfish Gene and other truly once-in-a-generation great books!