This seems to me to be a satisfying, although not necessarily complete, analysis of the strage of human consciousness in a material universe. For new customer, we need process for verification from 30 mins to 12 hours version. An eternal golden braid, also known as geb, is a 1979 book by douglas hofstadter. Compulsively readable and endlessly thoughtprovoking, this is the book hofstadters many readers have long been waiting for. Hofstadter felt a need to write a new book because so many people misperceived geb as a hodgepodge of neat things with no central theme. These are the mysteries tackled in i am a strange loop, douglas hofstadters first booklength journey into philosophy since godel, escher, bach. Douglas hofstadter in his book i am a strange loop coined this idea.
In the end, we are selfperceiving, selfinventing, lockedin mirages that are little miracles of selfreference. If you want to read a far more disciplined analysis of consciousness, i can strongly recommend the works of hofstadter s friends, david chalmers and especially daniel dennett. I am a strange loop by douglas hofstadter abebooks. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want.
Today, more than two thousand years after heraclitus wrote those words, science has shrunk the boundaries of the soul considerably. Does an i exert genuine power over the particles in our brain, or is it helplessly pushed around by the laws of physics. To describe such selfreferencing objects, hofstadter coins the term strange loopa concept he examines in more depth in his followup book i am a strange loop. I am a strange loop is thoughtful, amusing and infectiously enthusiastic. I am a strange loop by douglas hofstadter 9780465030798. Pulitzerprize winner douglas hofstadter takes on some weighty and wonderful questions in i am a strange loopamong them, the size of a soul and the vagaries of thoughtand proposes persuasive answers that surprised me both with their simplicity and their sense of optimism. In 1993 hofstadters wife carol died suddenly of a brain tumor at only 42, leaving him with two young children to care for. His new book, as brilliant and provocative as earlier ones, is a colorful mix of speculations with passages of autobiography.
And indeed, it is impossible to come away from this book without having introduced elements of. An eternal golden braid, first published in 1979, won both the pulitzer prize for general nonfiction and a national book award at that time called the american book award for science. Compulsively readable and endlessly thoughtprovoking, this is a moving and profound inquiry into the nature of mind. There isnt any loop in my brain that is a copy however imperfect of my wife or childrens identity, only modifications of my own that represent them. Point a video camera at a tv displaying the cameras output, and you will produce a receding corridor of screens. I am a strange loop king county library system overdrive. Piano music by douglas hofstadter audio cd isbn 1576771431, 2000 hofstadter, douglas r. Douglas hofstadter is a distinguished professor of cognitive science and comparative literature at indiana university.
I am a strange loop, too, and douglas hofstadter has written my book. I am a strange loop by douglas hofstadter issue 78. Like if one keeps climbing upward in the chain of command within the brain, one finds at the very top those overall organizational forces and dynamic properties of the large patterns of cerebral excitation that are correlated with mental states or. Bloomberg newsi am a strange loop is vintage hofstadter. Hofstadter and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Hofstadters first booklength journey into philosophy since godel, escher, bach. You would not find the boundaries of the soul no matter how many paths you traveled, so deep is its measure. The most central and complex symbol in your brain is the one called i. Goedel escher bach download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. If you need epub and mobi version, please send me a message click message us icon at the right corner.
Douglas r hofstadter argues that the key to understanding ourselves and consciousness is the strange loop, a special kind. I am a strange loop argues that the key to understanding selves and consciousness is the strange loopa. I am a strange loop argues that the key to understanding selves and consciousness is the strange loopa special kind of abstract feedback loop inhabiting our brains. Buy i am a strange loop book online at low prices in india. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read i am a strange loop. These are the mysteries tackled in i am a strange loop, douglas r. Bloomberg news i am a strange loop scales some lofty conceptual heights, but it remains very personal, and its deeply colored by the facts of hofstadters later life. Where he describes this selfreferential mechanism as what describes the unique property of minds. One of our greatest philosophers and scientists of the mind asks, where does the self come fromand how our selves can exist in the minds of others. So a strange loop is not a necessary condition for consciousness. The i is the nexus in our brain, one of many symbols seeming to have free will and to have gained the.
I am a strange loop get book i am a strange loop read pdf i am a strange loop authored by douglas r. These are the mysteries tackled in i am a strange loop, douglas hofstadter s first booklength journey into philosophy since godel, escher, bach. Read online now i am a strange loop douglas r hofstadter ebook pdf at our library. His previous books include godel, escher, fluid concepts and creative analogies, and bach, which won the pulitzer prize for general nonfiction in 1980. Pixels make up the picture, but our interest is in the image, the tunnel of rectangles. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Get i am a strange loop douglas r hofstadter pdf file for free from our online library pdf file. Scott oreilly loops the loop with douglas hofstadter. If you want to read a far more disciplined analysis of consciousness, i can strongly recommend the works of hofstadters friends, david chalmers and especially daniel dennett. Bloomberg news i am a strange loop is vintage hofstadter. Douglas hofstadter project gutenberg selfpublishing. Actually, he has written a much more thorough and comprehensible book than i could, and in such a friendly and personal way that i feel i could call him doug. There is much here and i do not doubt that writing i am a strange loop was a labor of love in more ways than one.
Huge credit to david szakaly for his visual representation of a strange loop. I am a strange loop scales some lofty conceptual heights, but it remains very personal, and its deeply colored by the facts of hofstadters later life. Twentyeight years ago, douglas hofstadter published a book titled goedel, escher, bach that earned him instant academic renown and a cultlike following. I am a strange loop attempts to correct this problem by better illustrating how inanimate matter can lead to animate beings with awareness and consciousness. No one knew what it was, but molly wasnt able to understand language or to speak nor is she to this day, and we never did find. Click download or read online button to get goedel escher bach book now. One of our greatest philosophers and scientists of the mind asks, where does the self come fromand how our selves can. Can self, soul, consciousness, i arise out of mere matter. I am a strange loop is a work of rigorous thinking. One of our greatest philosophers and scientists of the mind. I am a strange loop by douglas hofstadter scott oreilly loops the loop with douglas hofstadter.
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