Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid | Douglas R. Hofstadter

Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid | Douglas R. Hofstadter | A really exciting book

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Godel, Escher, Bac...

	Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid Douglas R. Hofstadter Basic Books, 1999 - 832 pages average customer review:based on 244 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Book Stands on its Own Merits

This book first came out when I was entering graduate school. Intrigued by reviews, I vowed to pick it up and see what all the fuss was about, but that intention continued to be overruled by the time constraints of graduate research, as well as various other life experiences. Eventually, a few other misadventurous choices I made sucked a lot of time out of life, and I gradually forgot about GEB.

Then, a little more than ten years ago, an internet acquaintance I had met in a newsgroup referred to GEB, and I was intrigued enough at that time to seek out and purchase an out-of-print copy at a used book store. What a life saver, literally! How? Bear with me, and I will explain...

It would be hyperbole to credit GEB solely for giving me the inspiration to change a very bad personal situation several years ago, without also crediting family, friends, myself, and a bit of good luck as well, but it would also be negligent to not credit GEB at all. After purchasing the book, I started reading short passages occasionally and working through various mental challenges and puzzles, albeit secretly, lest my activity be perceived as futile and thus evoke the ire of a certain someone in my life at the time. I certainly did not want my dearly sought, out-of-print (at the time) book to end up being destroyed.

If you are still with me here, you are probably thinking by now, she needed a few self help books, new locks on the doors, court orders, and maybe even a baseball bat; not GEB! Well, this is a book review, so let me continue. It sounds trite, but Hofstadter's book helped me realize the truth of "I think, therefore, I am." Of course, it certainly helped that I have always enjoyed puzzles in mathematics and logic, but by going through GEB, I began to recover a certain sense of self that I had pretty much neglected. It was a defining moment in turning my life around.

Now, with regard to the book itself...

Some reviewers here have critiqued GEB as if they are reviewing a paper for journal publication. Excuse me, but the book is what it is. Surely if these reviewers are as serious and scholarly as they present themselves to be, they could stroll over to their nearest university library and find all sorts of very scholarly writing with which they could impress themselves. However, I do not understand why they seem to expect GEB to be in the same category as peer reviewed journals. The ideas presented in the book are most definitely impressive, but GEB was published to be read and enjoyed by an educated public, not just by a scholarly few within one discipline.

I will not pretend to have found the "hidden message" of the entire book, though I think I have a pretty good idea what it is. I find that I enjoy the book most by slowly taking in various ideas to be savored and digested. It is a meditative work. Indeed, as someone now well along in a career as a computer professional, e.g., programmer analyst (hey, my life really did change!), I sometimes find the development in my thinking skills nurtured by GEB, and I also find my understanding of GEB nurtured by the development of my thinking skills. This understanding extends into all areas of life.

GEB is very inspirational on multidimensional levels, e.g., serious, recreational, challenging, etc. If you enjoy logic, puzzles, philosophy, and knowledge in general, I think you will enjoy this book. If you have a reasonably good grounding in mathematics, you will probably enjoy GEB even more, but if you do not have such a background, do not let that stop you from diving in anyway. Peruse a few passages, and see if you like it!

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A really exciting book

This may be a difficult read, but I think it's worth it. There's a definate payoff to be had; this book contains stuff that can be downright exciting, when things start connecting in ways you'd never considered before. (Or maybe that's just me : )

If you hate "thinking" and deliberately avoid math just on principle, you might not like this book. If you do puzzles, you probably will enjoy it.

A Modern Quest For Logical Goodness.

I would fall short in characters if I even tried to review this book.

This book analyzes patters from DNA to smoking habits. Gives a run down on how patterns are perceived and why they become "logical"... It gets interesting once the theories of the reverses come in place, it opens a door to endless logic and the theorems keep on coming.

Beyond my full understanding still, I plan on reading this book in a couple of years again... And for the intriguing love of it's quest... Again.

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Amazing book!

This is an amazing book if you have ever wondered if Math, Music and Art were somehow linked. Yes, the are and this book will explain how.
If you are interested in the subject but are a novice in the area, reading 'Art and Physics' by Leonard Shlain will set a good platform for this book.

Philosopy of third Millenium

One of the 6 books that a wuman must read in a lifetime, to assign a meaning to what we live.

reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, page 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18

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