Gödel, Escher, Bach: an in-depth explainer
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Gödel, Escher, Bach: an in-depth explainer
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Re: Gödel, Escher, Bach: an in-depth explainer
#2An incredible piece of work. Shaped my life trajectory in many ways. Introduced me to thinkers like Daniel Dennett and Stanislaw Lem.
Every generation or so a book comes along that, in retrospect, seems almost clairvoyant. This is one of those books.
Re: Gödel, Escher, Bach: an in-depth explainer
#3Maybe one day I'll try reading it again and actually finish it, but so far I couldn't do it. Everything is fascinating and mind blowing don't get me wrong, but I feel like there is always this weird pretentious atmosphere going on. I don't know how to describe it, but by the end of the first half reading GEB was not fun anymore.
Re: Gödel, Escher, Bach: an in-depth explainer
#4Maybe one day I'll try reading it again and actually finish it, but so far I couldn't do it. Everything is fascinating and mind blowing don't get me wrong, but I feel like there is always this weird pretentious atmosphere going on. I don't know how to describe it, but by the end of the first half reading GEB was not fun anymore.
You can skip the alternating socratic parts and it is much lighter :P
I think Zen and the art of motorcycle repair has a similar structure with Socratic dialogs interspersed.
Re: Gödel, Escher, Bach: an in-depth explainer
#5I wonder how experienced the author of GEB is with psychedelics, that book always felt fairly trippy to me.
Re: Gödel, Escher, Bach: an in-depth explainer
#6Why read this when GEB is its own in-depth explainer?
Re: Gödel, Escher, Bach: an in-depth explainer
#7Is there a good book that is similar in spirit, but doesn't require the maturity of GEB? I know an 8th grader that would be a great target, but I don't know if they have the mathematical/logical maturity to get through it.
Re: Gödel, Escher, Bach: an in-depth explainer
#8G.E.B is hegelian philosophy without one mention to Hegel and more mechanic than organic
Anyone read the Phenomenology of Spirit and notice the same ideas?
Re: Gödel, Escher, Bach: an in-depth explainer
#9Is there a good book that is similar in spirit, but doesn't require the maturity of GEB? I know an 8th grader that would be a great target, but I don't know if they have the mathematical/logical maturity to get through it.
While I'm not sure it requires "less maturity", DH released a subsequent book titled "I am a strange loop" which is an attempt to condense his ideas from GEB.
Re: Gödel, Escher, Bach: an in-depth explainer
#10I've read GEB over many years rather in the way someone would read the Bible. I pick it up from time to time and enjoy chewing on one or two chapters of material.
But I've yet to figure out if the book actually has a specific thesis. I know it's all about the power of interpretation and the way in which interpreting a formal system as self-referencing has the effect of completely blowing up the intended design of that system. But can someone sum up how this connects to consciousness beyond the obvious way in which consciousness plays the role of the interpreter? Or is that itself the thesis of the book? Or maybe that consciousness is the originator of self-reference?
Bottom line is that I think the thesis can be summed up in a few sentences, but apparently it takes a whole 800 page book to get to the point. Would love other people's thoughts on what that point is ultimately. By the way, as salty as I sound about it, I love GEB. So don't get me wrong :).