Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid

GEB is pretty much the must-read book for anyone interested in computers and/or general philosophy of mind. Hofstadter has had a long, interesting career in the field of interesting mathematics and links between theory and real life. In his magnum opus, GEB, he explores what it is to be a self-thinking machine, and how, by looking at it from some other perspectives, we can learn a lot about how we think and do.The beginning of the book starts out by explaining some simple concepts, and then chains them together in ever-growing complexity. By the sections on natural-language processing, the symbolic logic can be a little overwhelming if you've not done symbol manipulation before.. Once powered-through (and assuming that you were able to either follow the logic, or trust in Hofstadter's reasoning chain), the book moves into more varied and easier to understand areas which demonstrate the Godel Theorem without going into the maths.I absolutely loved this book. It's a masterpiece of this generation. It takes some serious bending of the little grey cells to follow all of the logic, but the wonderful interplay of the music, art and maths is truly mind-expanding. Once you see what Hofstadter's pointing out, you simply can't un-see it.Pretty soon, you'll be making Quine-based quips, or looking for self-disproving theorems (like "This sentence is false"). Ahh, the beauty of a well-laid trap paradox!so, if you're scientific, technical or just plain interested in maths, then get this. It's a very weighty tome, and a recently added preface and some new sections make it even beefier. But it's so worth it. If I could draw parallels, I'd say it's as mind-expanding as Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance... that sort of thing.

Practically new, unmarked copy, carefully packed and promptly delivered. No way can I yet give a blow by blow account of the book itself. Have you seen it? Have you weighed it? Remember, too, this is no ordinary book, which is why I was so keen to find it. For an intelligent review, ask me again in around 5 years' time. This one is going to be like swimming the English Channel. I look forward to it enormously.

The content of the book is great but it arrived in an unsatisfactory condition.

It's a little complicated for a beginner, and thus is it hard to read at some points that have complex ideology, except that, great book

I am still trying to work through it, it is absolutely huge and very, very, thought provoking, so I am trying to digest it in small doses to let my slow brain ruminate over it's passages

This is a really engaging book. It has twists and turns, rythms, conundrums and a great mixture of different media to keep you going in an exploration of the possibility of identity arising from 'machine-like' operants. There are great illustrations and a good use of humour that permeates the dialogue format that carries the book from section to section. You can learn alot from this tome and enjoy learning it.

Douglas Hofstadter's Gödel, Escher, Bach (GEB) is a landmark exploration of logic, mathematics, and the nature of intelligence. However, its brilliance comes at a cost: sheer complexity.The book weaves together the ideas of logician Kurt Gödel, artist M.C. Escher, and composer Johann Sebastian Bach, highlighting surprising connections between formal systems, self-reference, and creativity. This interdisciplinary approach is fascinating, but it demands a lot from the reader.Here's what makes GEB a challenging read:Foundational Concepts: Grasping Gödel's incompleteness theorem, a cornerstone of the book, requires some mathematical background. Hofstadter offers an intuitive explanation, but it's a tough climb.Rapid Shifts: The book jumps between disciplines, sometimes within a single chapter. Following these connections can be mentally taxing.Escherian Twists: Hofstadter uses playful dialogues and self-referential jokes that mirror Escher's art. While clever, they can be distracting and slow down the reading pace.Is it Unreadable? Not entirely. Hofstadter's writing is engaging, and the core ideas are profound. However, be prepared for a battle.Recommendation: If you have a strong background in logic and a taste for intellectual puzzles, GEB will reward your effort. For others, it might be best approached with patience, supplemental readings, or perhaps an abridged version.

Reading it and watching MIT lectures on it. Fun, interesting and very challenging. I can’t say much… loads to dig in… and digest.