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gvenezia 's review for:
Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid
by Douglas R. Hofstadter
An absolute delight to explore.* The great appeal of GEB is Hofstadter's extended use of analogy and isomorphism as a way to enable high-level understanding of dense topics like AI research, Bach's compositional methods, mathematical proof, and consciousness.
As suggested by the title, Hofstadter spends a lot of time highlighting the deep connections and isomorphisms between the work of Gödel, Escher, and Bach (and their respective fields of formal logic/mathematics, representational art, and Baroque music). The constant shifting between different fields provides an enticing approach to infamously dry subjects (like set theory and logic). Sugarcoating the spoons helps the medicine go down, as each successive comparison serves to strengthen previous analogies.
After establishing the foundational insights of these figures, Hofstadter contextualizes the "primary" subjects with their contemporaries in similar fields. Computer science, AI, biology, linguistics, Zen Buddhism, and consciousness come to the fore and the book becomes much more than a series of interesting connections between three figures in history. It shifts up a level to examine the very cognitive processes by which such connections are created and what these processes might tell us about what it means to be a conscious being. In a way, the book starts examining itself; it becomes self-referential. The genius of GEB is that the self-reference enabled by "shifting" between different levels is the primary connection drawn between the work of Gödel, Escher, Bach, and all the "secondary" fields Hofstadter explores. Eventually, these explorations culminate in Hofstadter's claim that consciousness can also be explained by this self-reference and interaction between different levels of a system—what he calls a "strange loop." However, at this point there is little direct attempt to convince the reader by comparing his view to other leading theories. Indeed, it'd be difficult to condense a formal argument since the conclusion depends on intuitions built up from countless analogies.
In the end, GEB is more educational or generative than it is argumentative or conclusive. It doesn't feel like I've (consciously) changed any positions, but it does feel like I've gained a new perspective on mathematics, Baroque music, and representational art. Furthermore, this perspective may well be an important part of the Western zeitgeist in the last 100 years, as it provides connective tissue among prominent theories and advances in seemingly disparate fields. Regardless of what conclusions are reached, GEB presents an engaging methodology and a wealth of knowledge. I'd recommend it to anyone with an interest in any one of the primary figures/fields.
*I say explore because I read it in three chunks over four years and because it led to just as much time outside of the book as in it. (E.g. It re-inspired a love of Bach and the Baroque. It required brushing up on some low-level math and high-level philosophy of mathematics and metaphilosophy.) This book isn't easy, but there is a lot to entice the next page turn.
As suggested by the title, Hofstadter spends a lot of time highlighting the deep connections and isomorphisms between the work of Gödel, Escher, and Bach (and their respective fields of formal logic/mathematics, representational art, and Baroque music). The constant shifting between different fields provides an enticing approach to infamously dry subjects (like set theory and logic). Sugarcoating the spoons helps the medicine go down, as each successive comparison serves to strengthen previous analogies.
After establishing the foundational insights of these figures, Hofstadter contextualizes the "primary" subjects with their contemporaries in similar fields. Computer science, AI, biology, linguistics, Zen Buddhism, and consciousness come to the fore and the book becomes much more than a series of interesting connections between three figures in history. It shifts up a level to examine the very cognitive processes by which such connections are created and what these processes might tell us about what it means to be a conscious being. In a way, the book starts examining itself; it becomes self-referential. The genius of GEB is that the self-reference enabled by "shifting" between different levels is the primary connection drawn between the work of Gödel, Escher, Bach, and all the "secondary" fields Hofstadter explores. Eventually, these explorations culminate in Hofstadter's claim that consciousness can also be explained by this self-reference and interaction between different levels of a system—what he calls a "strange loop." However, at this point there is little direct attempt to convince the reader by comparing his view to other leading theories. Indeed, it'd be difficult to condense a formal argument since the conclusion depends on intuitions built up from countless analogies.
In the end, GEB is more educational or generative than it is argumentative or conclusive. It doesn't feel like I've (consciously) changed any positions, but it does feel like I've gained a new perspective on mathematics, Baroque music, and representational art. Furthermore, this perspective may well be an important part of the Western zeitgeist in the last 100 years, as it provides connective tissue among prominent theories and advances in seemingly disparate fields. Regardless of what conclusions are reached, GEB presents an engaging methodology and a wealth of knowledge. I'd recommend it to anyone with an interest in any one of the primary figures/fields.
*I say explore because I read it in three chunks over four years and because it led to just as much time outside of the book as in it. (E.g. It re-inspired a love of Bach and the Baroque. It required brushing up on some low-level math and high-level philosophy of mathematics and metaphilosophy.) This book isn't easy, but there is a lot to entice the next page turn.