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Summary: GEB's too good to summarize in one line. I need more space.
Review: GEB is definitely the best book I've ever read. As many people have said, it has something for everyone... who would have thought it was possible to work fugues, metamathematics, "Strange Loops" (I still don't understand what these are), molecular biology, Zen Buddhism, cognitive science, etc., etc., etc. into one book? (Of course, it is a very large book...) The dialogues are probably the best part. My favorite dialogues would have to be: - Crab Canon & Sloth Canon. Wonderful "translations" of Bach's music. (Does DRH comment on these "translations" in Le Ton Beau de Marot?) - Mu Offering: essentially a disguised version of the Central Dogma of Molecular Biology. Instead of DNA, the bases A, C, G, T, and proteins, it involves strings, funny geometric symbols, and Zen koans. I'm surprised he doesn't comment on this isomorphism in the Chapter. Also, a few days ago I noticed that he works Godel's Theorem in here with the string figures... another typical example of the many levels of meaning in the book. -Contrafactus (I think that's the name) - Achilles, the Tortoise, et al. watch a football game in "subjunctive instant replay". I think there's a chapter in Metamegical Themas about this idea of "slippability", as DRH likes to call it. I just read it for the second time... the first time for no reason in particular, this second time partially because i felt like it and partially because I'm doing a presentation in my music class on crab canons. This book has everything - I'd recommend it to friends, but it is a very challenging book. I'm sure there's plenty of things in it I've missed, and I don't know if they'd pick up on them. But maybe I underestimate them? In any case, if you haven't read this book yet, do yourself a favor and buy GEB as soon as possible. You won't regret it.
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Summary: The greatest book ever written by a human being.
Review: As pure Art, as magnificent intelligence incarnated as absolute beauty, this is the greatest book ever written by human hands. It is a terrible thing to contemplate that 150,000 people die every day without having read this book. Don't let it happen to you. This book dramatically illustrates two things: First, that truly fascinating subjects and truly beautiful works of art require fundamental concepts from cognitive science and an implicit understanding of the Universe. Second, that no matter how deep a scientific idea is, it can still be explained to any intelligent reader, without using obscuring clouds of mumbo-jumbo. Artificial Intelligence, mathematics, cognitive science, computer programming; art, music, language; it doesn't matter whether you know them, or you want to know them, or you just want an unlimited amount of amazing fun - read this book. I could spend the rest of my life reading this book and I would still be noticing wonderful new gems. If you're just an ordinary guy and you read this book, you may not understand some of it. But when you're finished, you will no longer be ordinary.
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Summary: A superb book about math, art, computers and the mind.
Review: This book was nothing short of fantastic. The subject matter discussed is as broad as it is thought-provoking. The dialogues are intricate, humorous, and insightful. Don't buy this book if you expect light reading. Some sections took me hours to read, and even longer to fully grasp. Hofstadter is able to explain complex concepts with such simplicity and style that even a semi-moron such as myself can understand them. One of the few books that is capable of fundamentally changing the way you think (and the way you think about thinking).
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Summary: The most intellectually beautiful book there is- really!
Review: This book is written for absolutely everyone. I speak as a high schooler when I say that it can be enjoyed at any age- even children could enjoy Hofstadter's "Achilles and Tortoise" dialogues on a literary level. But for anyone interested in both music and the sciences, Godel, Escher, Bach is a profound journey through all realms of knowledge that entices the reader with discussions on everything from Zen Buddhism to molecular biology.What may seem like a digression is then woven back into this "eternal golden braid." Amusing metaphors alternate with chapters on artificial intelligence and how self-reference can either lead to self-destruction or "self-creation" in a sense. In conlcusion, Godel, Escher, Bach is something that everyone should just RUN to buy!!
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Summary: This book is pure genius!
Review: This is perhaps one of the most ingenius books ever written. Douglas Hofstadter has managed to tie together music, art, mathematics, biology and so much more to make this masterpiece. There has never been a book quite like this.
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Summary: JUST BRILLIANT!
Review: What more can I say ? ... it's just brilliant
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Summary: A must for those who think about thinking systems.
Review: A collection of fundamental principles; When viewed discretely - excellent insights on elements of both logic and thought. When viewed as a whole - thought provoking insights on both thinking-machines and man.
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Summary: Would you like that deep or superficial?
Review: GEB may have contributed much to the world of logic. But there is a deeper and more human theme which people seem to miss. This book demonstrates that people from different perspectives will inevitably fail to fully understand each other. As a westerner, I might look at a rock and pass it by, while a buddhist may see something considerably more interesting in its existence. Meta-meanings are the issue; because of my belief system rocks end up as simple things, while the buddhist will see a great deal more of the universe and herself in that rock. This book is quite likely to have an effect on the way one sees things. It is simple for me to wonder "Why don't you understand, it's a simple concept?!" when the truth is I may be missing a great deal.
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Summary:
####### Why don't they understand?? #######
Review: I first read this book when I was 14. To me, the underlying theme is summarized as follows: "Logic and Intelligence is something understandable by humans, living creatures. At what point does information leave the "mechanical" state of what is right and wrong, and enter the 'intelligent' state of logic? When does 'logic' then, become 'unintelligent'? The book is an unasked question. As we strive to achieve higher levels of Artificial Intelligence, we learn more and more about our own intelligence. Not only do we not always have the answers, we discover more questions as we go. The book shows, in an underlying way, how using one type of logic to understand that same type of logic, invariably causes chasms. However, using a second type of logic to understand the first, has huge communication gaps. Now as I begin to read the book again a couple things come to mind, 1) I didn't realize how much this had to do with AI the first time around. 2) It might not necessarily be about "AI" as it is about "I" in general. 3) I would love to know what the author would change if he was writing it for the first time today. So read up, enjoy, and goodness, it's not as hard as you all make it out to be!!
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Summary: Beyond the author
Review: In his new preface, Hofstadter takes his readers to task for often not understanding the one main idea of GEB: What differentiates that which is alive from that which isn't. (Or sentient, whatever.) When he asked people what the main, one-sentence point of his book was, they would frustrate him by giving different answers. That's the irony of this book; it has enough difference and depth that people will see the book differently through its different facets. So any random person could point out this is a treatise on Zen, or mathematical rigor, or biology, or the subject/object.... The author no longer has claim to his novel. He has no idea what it is all about either.
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