I wonder how experienced the author of GEB is with psychedelics, that book always felt fairly trippy to me.
commitment to the material in that depth is not the product of drugs
Gödel, Escher, Bach: an in-depth explainer
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Re: Gödel, Escher, Bach: an in-depth explainer
#12Is 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.
It depends on what you mean by "a similar spirit" I suppose. One thing Hofstadter didn't like about GEB was he felt too many people didn't see his central theme among the many other ideas there.
His 2007 book, "I Am A Strange Loop" is a bit of an answer to this. It's mostly the same ideas in GEB about the self and strange loops, but without all the meandering and interludes. It's been a while but I remember it being less logic/mathy than GEB. I did enjoy it.
But the meandering and the interludes are part of the enjoyment of GEB. So if you're looking for another book to capture that spirit of GEB, I'm drawing a blank, hopefully someone else knows one.
Barely related recommendation, but I remember reading "A Brief History of Time" around that age. Very doable for a young teen if they have a passion for that sort of topic.
Re: Gödel, Escher, Bach: an in-depth explainer
#13Re: Gödel, Escher, Bach: an in-depth explainer
#14Is 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.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance comes to mind immediately. It works on several levels and is very accessible as a result. If you wanted to stray from the spirit of GEB into narrative prose, there are a number of books I could recommend, especially in science fiction.
Re: Gödel, Escher, Bach: an in-depth explainer
#15I wonder how experienced the author of GEB is with psychedelics, that book always felt fairly trippy to me.
commitment to the material in that depth is not the product of drugs
https://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2245
There are several famous mathematicians known for their avid use of amphetamines.
Re: Gödel, Escher, Bach: an in-depth explainer
#16I'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 tha…
The book is about... should I call it golemization? the emergence of a being from a summation of non-being things.
Few people get it like that and I think it's a problem with the book. It's taken as more of a funny and poignant popular science dive into some aspects of logic and computability. Hofstadter expands on "I Am a Strange Loop" which I think you should read if you are interested into what was his take with GEB.
Re: Gödel, Escher, Bach: an in-depth explainer
#17Is 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.
Think on These Things by Jiddu Krishnamurti
Re: Gödel, Escher, Bach: an in-depth explainer
#18Earlier quoted context omitted.
commitment to the material in that depth is not the product of drugs
https://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2245 There are several famous mathematicians known for their avid use of amphetamines.
And there are many who arent. I doubt there's a statistical corollation.
Re: Gödel, Escher, Bach: an in-depth explainer
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
commitment to the material in that depth is not the product of drugs
Thank you so much for saying this, I find this misconception deeply insulting
It's not an insult. Psychedelics can profoundly change how someone perceives things. GEB has that sort profound shift in POV that many would associate with psychedelics.
Re: Gödel, Escher, Bach: an in-depth explainer
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
commitment to the material in that depth is not the product of drugs
https://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2245 There are several famous mathematicians known for their avid use of amphetamines.
Not to mention the profound impact of LSD on the founders of modern computing.