About this title: First published in 1979, this is a genuine interdisciplinary work of nonfiction, with dozens of historical references and subtexts. Critics and reviewers have summed up its meaning in varying ways, yet consistently with praise. A mixture of art, philosophy, music, math, technology, and cognitive science, the book's title only reflects one aspect ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Description: Fair. 0465026567 Unread book with dj tear, bump or corner crease. This is a new book that received the wear during its handling. Has remainder mark. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Vintage
Date Published: 1989-05-14
ISBN-13:9780394756820ISBN:0394756827
Description: Good. Softcover book in acceptable condition, clean and tightly bound. Small stain toward back in middle of endpapers not extending into text. Another small stain in front. Otherwise book appears to be new and unread. Ships next business day from Oklahoma. read more
Description: Good. 0465026567 Book could have a shelf wear, or a bump, or sunfade to edges. These are new unread books from the publisher with one of these conditions. See are feedback as customers are satisfied in how we grade our books. Fast shipping and customer service is our number 1 priority! read more
Edition: First Paperback Edition
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Basic Books, New York, New York, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1999
ISBN-13:9780465026562ISBN:0465026567
Description: Very Good- 8vo-over 7 3/4"-9 3/4" Tall 0465026567 Used LIght shelfwear and rubbing to extremities, spine lightly creased. read more
Description: Good++ No Jacket Issued. "A metaphorical fugue on minds and machines in the spirit of Lewis Carroll. " from the cover. This is a popular Science / Philosophy book, Winner of the Pulitzer Prize. This is a solid and clean soft cover trade paperback book. The condition is Good++, Reprint Edition. This book has a clean cover with a nice smooth spine. There is a slight crease to the cover and a little surface wear, but this book is very acceptable. The pages are bright & clean with only some ... read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Vintage
Date Published: 1989-05-14
ISBN-13:9780394756820ISBN:0394756827
Description: Very Good. Nice clean copy! No names, no marks, no stickers. Binding is tight and square. Text is clean, bright and unmarked. Has some light edge and corner wear. Careful packaging and fast shipping. We recommend EXPEDITED MAIL for even faster delivery! read more
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 832 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Vintage
Date Published: 1989-05-14
ISBN-13:9780394756820ISBN:0394756827
Description: Very Good. About 35 Pages of Highlighting out of 776, About 5% of the Book, No Remainder Mark, Unbroken Spine, Minimal Wear on Cover, Priority Shipping recommended for prompt delivery by USPS when offered, Delivery Confirmation on all domestic items where available. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Vintage
Date Published: 1989-05-14
ISBN-13:9780394756820ISBN:0394756827
Description: Like New. Clean, Unmarked Copy, No Remainder Mark, Partial Slight Crease on Spine, Two Surface Scratches on Cover, Priority Shipping recommended for prompt delivery by USPS when offered, Delivery Confirmation on all domestic items where available. read more
Edition: 1st Edition 2nd Printing
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Vintage Books/Random House, New York, NY
Date Published: 1979
ISBN-13:9780394756820ISBN:0394756827
Description: Text Illustrations. VG+ 777pgs(Index) Owner name embossment on front endpaper, Title Page, small ink date stamp, number, word on rear endpaper, spine slightly canted. Or slanted (1/8"), o.w. clean, bright & tight. ISBN 0394756827. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Basic Books
Date Published: 1999-02-04
ISBN-13:9780465026562ISBN:0465026567
Description: New. No jacket as issued. New paperback book with light shelf wear on covers. We ship 6 days a week, generally within 24 hours; single CDs and DVDs upgraded to 1st class! read more
"This isn't for everyone, but you get some serious nerd credibility for reading this I think. I really enjoyed the first half and would have given that five stars, but the second half seems to me to beat the reader over the head with its point. The book covers a lot of topics in science and math, often with analogies using fugues, Escher's art, and Hofstadter's own dialogues (which are an entertaining supplement to the main text).
Hofstadter suggests that "strange loops" or "tangled hierarchies" are at the root of all intelligence. He gives several examples: the interrelationships between DNA and proteins, variations on the Epimenides paradox ("This sentence is false"), and pretty much everything M.C. Escher ever did. He ties these things together, and spends a lot of the latter half of the book focusing on artificial intelligence (which he researches).
Overall, I'd say Hofstadter is a skillful and entertaining writer. There is a lot of wordplay, especially in his dialogues, that is unbelievably clever. I literally looked up a few of the names and facts that he uses because I didn't think they could be set up that perfectly to work for him, and they all checked out. Between the writing style and the variety of topics, which were mostly interesting to me, I found the 700 pages went by pretty quickly."
"GEB: EGB is basically an exploration of the idea of intelligence, artificial and otherwise. Hofstader's goal is to shed some light on how intelligence / consciousness / self-awareness happens. Hofstader believes that self-awareness -- the "I" -- ultimately arises from recursion. To put it very simply, at the highest levels the brain is a system that deals with symbols, and the "I" is the symbol for the system itself.
There is much, much more to this book. There are lengthy tangents into mathematics, philosophy, biology (the section about the recursion that takes place in the copying of DNA is particularly fascination), etc.
Thankfully the book is organized into sections that alternate between straight exposition of some concept and a fictional dialogue that illustrates the concept. Still, it's not light reading, and I did wish at points that there was a Reader's Digest version that would just give me the main points without going off on a tangent for 30 pages about wasps or something.
Godel, Escher, Bach made me rethink a lot of my preconceptions about consciousness and artificial intelligence, and is well worth reading the next time you have three months to spare."
"This book took me over 6 months to read. Not because I'm a slow reader, but because this book warrents that kind of time and devotion. I found my self going back and re-reading sections, sometimes whole chapters. The book builds on itself, making it nesissary to understand and absorb all the material fully before moving on.
That being said, Hofstadter is such a good writer and teacher, and has such a good understanding of just how difficult the subject matter in GEB is, that the book doesn't seem to feel like a burden. The deeper you get, the more and more you want to see where it is all going, and it's well worth the effort.
A lot of people ask what this book is about? My answer, is.. what isn't it about? GEB touches on everything from music, art, science, mathmatics, artificial intelegence, etc. In the end, it ties all these things together with what it means to be a conscious being observing and manipulating the world around us. It's analytical, philosophical, and spiritual all in one book. Whichever angle you choose to approach GEB, you are bound to learn something and come away with new and exciting ideas."
"This book offers substantial insight into formal systems and gives an overview of how they have manifested themselves in various disciplines in Western history. The reason I am still reading it is that it is pretty long. I find myself constantly wondering if it could have been shortened.
One issue I am having is that the approach doesn't work as well for art as it does for music and mathematics. I don't think Escher will ever have the status in art history that Bach did in music and Goedel did in logic. For all his technical skill and trippiness, his work has a certain coldness to it and it did not really engage any issues in art history that I am aware of. It would be interesting if the author had chosen something like mathematical perspective in the art department. It is possible, however, that art just doesn't lend itself to the same kind of abstraction that music and math do.
Nonetheless, I got a lot out of the sections on math and music. The TNT thing is pretty cool. And I started to really appreciate Bach along the way. I could have done without the sections with Achilles, Tortoise, and Co. It was clever, but awkward."
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