Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic. Of the many possible metaphors for the mind, my favorite for my mind is the cabinet of curiosities. If life can grow out of the formal chemical substrate of the cell, if consciousness can emerge out of a formal system of firing neurons, then so too will. This canon was conceived after serendipitously finding a poem written by julia galef, who kindly granted me. Originally it is a musical term for a kind of canon in which one line is reversed in time from the other e. Hofstadter, well beyond having given him a word to fill out the book s title. Publication date 1963 topics intellectuals publisher. A crab canon also known by the latin form of the name, canon cancrizansis an arrangement of two musical lines that are complementary and backward, similar to a palindrome. Sheldon is having a hard time accepting that both penny and amy have moved away, so sheldon decides to focus his energies on fun with flags.
Douglas hofstadter s book is concerned directly with the nature of maps or links between formal systems. It remains an essential resource for our time, fulfilling, in the words of susan jacoby, the dream of every historian to produce a work that endures and provides the foundation for insights that may lie decades or centuries in the future. Escher and composer johann sebastian bach, discussing common themes in their work and lives. In continuation of what appears to be a series, id like to talk about richard hofstadter. Sloth canon this is the name hofstadter gave to the canon by augmentation in the musical offering. Our weekly series on american progressivism continues with the journalist and author discussing the genesis of liberalism and how the civil war remade politics. For me, knowing about forthcoming volumes is more than just idle curiosity.
In response to confusion over the books theme, hofstadter emphasized that godel, escher, bach is not about. Canon 5 from bachs musical offering sometimes known as bachs endlessly rising. An archive of our own, a project of the organization for transformative works. The posttrump big questions canon books relevant for thinking about the big questions in a posttrump world. Strange loops may involve selfreference and paradox. Hofstadter, of course, was the american political historian who taught at columbia with other academic luminaries such as lionel trilling and jacques barzun. What the music of bach can teach us about consciousness aeon. Sheldon cooperleonard hofstadter works archive of our own.
The book that kicked off the recent canon wars and spent more. American political life, hofstadter writes at the beginning of the paranoid style, a book. Hofstadter directs the center for research on concepts and cognition at indiana university, and is the college of arts and sciences professor of cognitive science and computer science. Read the soft copy of this book anytime, anywhere and download it for free. Hofstadter 1989 uses the strange loop as a paradigm in which to interpret. This crab canon is different from my previous crab canon in the following aspects. But douglas hofstadter s book is a more ambitious project. Crab canon definition and meaning collins english dictionary. Seaside canon, for douglas hofstadter raw audio sample. Escher and composer johann sebastian bach, geb expounds. The american political tradition 1948, the age of reform 1955, antiintellectualism in american life 1963, and the paranoid style in american politics 1964 are works that all american history students encounter.
It won both the pulitzer prize for general nonfiction and a. Antiintellectualism in american life by hofstadter, richard, 19161970. But one likely source of the confusion is in the name which is, at the same time, a big reason for the book s lasting popularity. The best books on the roots of liberalism recommended by franklin foer.
As richard hofstadter s book relates, antiintellectualism isnt a phenomenon of the trump era. The transition is seamless, and allows it to continue rising forever. The dialogues content concerns problems of mind, consciousness,free will, artificial intelligence, the turing test, and so forth, which have been introduced earlier. I was a fan of martin gardner and was looking through his books in the mathematics section when she picked up an enormous book with an impossible tri. Its no mistake, for instance, that the composer has offered such a rich source of intellectual inspiration to godel, escher, bach author douglas r. Some metaliterary aspects of hofstadters books are not necessarily purely. Hofstadters new book on consciousness, i plugged a webcam into my desktop computer. In his classic study, hofstadter argues that intellectuality has always been. The book is, like most of hofstadter s previous works, a discussion of the nature of consciousness, the meaning of self, and the possibility of artificial intelligence, which is the authors. Online shopping from a great selection at books store. Readings godel, escher, bach experimental study group.
Is there any way to read hofstadters godel escher bach. Antiintellectualism in american life by richard hofstadter 1962. Through illustration and analysis, the book discusses how, through self. Earlier diaries are here today well discuss crab canon pages 199203 i will leave the nex. Hofstadter is the son of nobel prizewinning douglas richard hofstadter is an american scholar of cognitive science, physics, and comparative literature whose research. Canon eos 5d mark ii donor internetarchivebookdrive externalidentifier. To get into a properly loopy mindset for douglas r. It is a book that attempts to discover what self really means. Besides being a profound and entertaining meditation on human thought and creativity, this book looks at the surprising points of contact between the music of bach, the artwork of escher, and the mathematics of godel.
A crab canon also known by the latin form of the name, canon cancrizans. Well, the latter isnt part of the canon yet, but its the capstone of a long career spent studying the cold war and a fairly quick, enjoyable read. I prefer loa volumes to other books and series, and i dont like to keep multiple copies of the same works in my library. Every few decades an unknown author brings out a book of such depth, clarity, range, wit, beauty and originality that it is recognized at once as a major literary. So in a way the strange loop that began with geb, and which ran through our house in suburban massachusetts in the 1980s, had miraculously closed itself. A new journey into hofstadters mind scientific american. The books homepage helps you explore earths biggest bookstore without ever leaving the comfort of your couch. Twenty years after it topped the bestseller charts, douglas r. Abbie hoffman humorously attempted to undermine sales of his own book by.
What the music of bach can teach us about consciousness. Still, one of the most salient traits of douglas hofstadters writing is its deeply and. This is the first example in the book of a strange loop, a loop whereby moving through it we unexpectedly find ourselves right back where we started. To accompany each expository chapter, the author has provided a whimsical dialogue cast in the form of a bach composition. The enduring relevance of classic american writing is on ample display in the library of america titles slated for release in the first half of 2020, as we welcome four new writers to the series and present four groundbreaking new anthologies. An eternal golden braid, also known as geb, is a 1979 book by douglas. Another likely culprit is hofstadters own musings about music. Like in the dialogue, one part is twice as slow and inverted with respect to another part, while the third part is free. Bach created an endlessly rising canon, in which it ends and immediately restarts but a note up. Synthesized recordings of the endlessly rising canon on the shepard scale can be found on the web. Inspire a love of reading with prime book box for kids discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that delivers new books every 1, 2, or 3 months new customers receive 15% off your first box. However, according to hofstadter, the formal system that underlies all mental activity transcends the system that supports it.
Listen to the first canon from bachs musical offering, and youll hear what sounds like a simple beginning develop. Escher, and composer johann sebastian bach, the book expounds concepts fundamental to mathematics, symmetry, and intelligence. For example, many years ago i started collecting the oxford mark twain. The book that kicked off the recent canon wars and spent more than a year on the bestseller list. X an analogy to godels incompleteness theorems, an examination of canon form in music, and a discussion of. Here youll find current best sellers in books, new releases in books, deals in books, kindle ebooks, audible audiobooks, and so much more. American political life, hofstadter writes at the beginning of the paranoid style, a book so.
This is a full master list of favorite and mostgifted books from all the tim ferriss show podcast guests starting from episode 1. An eternal golden braid, also known as geb, is a 1979 book by douglas hofstadter. It is a philosophy book that reads like music, a work of art that many consider second to none. An eternal golden braid is still something of a marvel. Richard hofstadter is undoubtedly one of the great figures in the american historical canon. For example, one dialogue has the form of a canon cancrizans, which is the same when read forward or backward. Other books i would add to the list for their canonical status include alan taylors william coopers town and john lewis gaddiss the cold war. By exploring common themes in the lives and works of logician kurt godel, artist m. The best books on the roots of liberalism five books. Definition of crab canon from the collins english dictionary. I was 12 years old, in foyles bookshop with my mother.
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