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shychipmunk's review
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
This book somehow manages to be a fairly light interesting read about a complex set of topics exemplified by the fundamental interconnectedness of all things. Hofstadter managed to connect all kinds of seemingly unrelated topics, and weave them together throughout the entire book
edriessen's review
3.0
Ik heb me door sommige secties heen moeten zwoegen. En hier en daar heb ik wat wiskunde gescand (lees: overgeslagen). Daarnaast genoot ik van de meer filosofische en speculerende passages. Nu ben ik uitgeBLuSt.
tonyleachsf's review
3.0
I’m glad I read this. It’s like reading Richard Feynman, but less accessible.
Infinity is hard and makes math really complicated. But the book softens the concepts with ties in to art and music (and biology), before going really deep again on cognitive science and artificial intelligence.
The pun-filled and whimsical dialogues are wonderful.
Infinity is hard and makes math really complicated. But the book softens the concepts with ties in to art and music (and biology), before going really deep again on cognitive science and artificial intelligence.
The pun-filled and whimsical dialogues are wonderful.
papelgren's review
4.0
Mind = blown. I'll never be able to think about the world the same after reading this book. Hofstadter sometimes gets bogged down with very technical language and some of his segues lack grace, but the scope and ambition of the book outweigh any flaws. He is playful to a fault, but that's better than being absolutely uninteresting to a fault. He also relies on the reader to figure out certain connections, which makes for something more difficult than it needs to be if the goal is to educate people who aren't familiar with these ideas in the first place.
adnielsen's review
5.0
I first picked this up about two years ago and even though Hofstadter cleverly warms you up to Gödel and his mind blowing theorems, I put the book down and embarked a short excursion to get to know Gödel and his place in Philosophy of Mathematics. I enjoyed Goldstein’s biography of him, read about the logical positivists and the Vienna Circle, and took a philosophy class at the local university on the proofs of his Incompleteness Theorems. Like Hofstadter, I devoured Nagel and Newman’s discussion of Gödel‘s proofs.
Feeling a little more confident to tackle this big brick, I dove in and read over the course of a month to great pleasure. The book itself is deep on many levels with some of the richest metaphors and word play I’ve read. Of course, whenever I would find a little Easter Egg or all too weird coincidence, I’d simultaneously wonder how many other readers found it and also how many other Easter Eggs I was missing.
What is the book about? According to author in the introduction to the 20th anniversary edition, most readers have no clue. Reviews of the book in many publications sound like they have no clue either, using descriptions like “it’s about math, art, and music.” Sure, these topics play a fun role in the overall grand scheme, but I think Hofstadter is pushing for something far deeper.
I really enjoyed the format of the book. There were silly interludes of cartoon characters alluding to much deeper topics to be discussed in the following chapter. At times the journey through the book can feel psychedelic with excursions into foundational mathematics, Turing machines, formal systems, molecular biology, music theory, modern art, self reference, and artificial intelligence.
This is a challenging read and I’m sure nearly all readers will not be an expert in many of the topics discussed in the book but I found it extremely enjoyable to read and experience. I no doubt did not fully understand every detail of this book and for that reason, it’ll be a great book to revisit in a few years.
Two thumbs up. Five stars. Would highly recommend to nerds.
Feeling a little more confident to tackle this big brick, I dove in and read over the course of a month to great pleasure. The book itself is deep on many levels with some of the richest metaphors and word play I’ve read. Of course, whenever I would find a little Easter Egg or all too weird coincidence, I’d simultaneously wonder how many other readers found it and also how many other Easter Eggs I was missing.
What is the book about? According to author in the introduction to the 20th anniversary edition, most readers have no clue. Reviews of the book in many publications sound like they have no clue either, using descriptions like “it’s about math, art, and music.” Sure, these topics play a fun role in the overall grand scheme, but I think Hofstadter is pushing for something far deeper.
I really enjoyed the format of the book. There were silly interludes of cartoon characters alluding to much deeper topics to be discussed in the following chapter. At times the journey through the book can feel psychedelic with excursions into foundational mathematics, Turing machines, formal systems, molecular biology, music theory, modern art, self reference, and artificial intelligence.
This is a challenging read and I’m sure nearly all readers will not be an expert in many of the topics discussed in the book but I found it extremely enjoyable to read and experience. I no doubt did not fully understand every detail of this book and for that reason, it’ll be a great book to revisit in a few years.
Two thumbs up. Five stars. Would highly recommend to nerds.