I am a strange loop by doug joyce on november 28, 2017 1. Strange loops may involve selfreference and paradox. I am a strange loop is overlywordy and jammed with a few too many analogies and painful puns, but i enjoyed the intellectual challenge. Pulitzerprize winner douglas hofstadter takes on some weighty and wonderful questions in i am a strange loopamong them, the size of a soul and the vagaries of thoughtand proposes persuasive answers that surprised me both with their simplicity and their sense of optimism. I find hofstadters concept of strange loop and how it explains consciousness to be very compelling however i find the writing style in goedel escher and bach to be too distracting and i am a strange loop to be too geewhiz popsciency. Doug hofstadters latest book, i am a strange loop, is partly a reworking of and partly a sequel to his celebrated godel, escher and bach published back in 1979.
One of our greatest philosophers and scientists of the mind asks, where. The concept of a strange loop was proposed and extensively discussed by douglas hofstadter in godel, escher, bach, and is further elaborated in hofstadters book i am a strange loop, published in 2007. A new journey into hofstadters mind scientific american. Mar 27, 2007 i am a strange loop argues that the key to understanding selves and consciousness is the strange loop a special kind of abstract feedback loop inhabiting our brains. Deep down, a human brain is a chaotic seething soup of particles, on a higher level it is a jungle of neurons, and on a yet higher level it is a network of abstractions that we. Pulitzerprize winner douglas hofstadter takes on some weighty and wonderful questions in i am a strange loop among them, the size of a soul and the vagaries of thoughtand proposes persuasive answers that surprised me both with their simplicity and their sense of optimism. Almost thirty years after the publication of his wellloved godel, escher, bach, hofstadter revisits. His new book, as brilliant and provocative as earlier ones, is a colorful mix of speculations with passages of autobiography. Strange loop workshops are selected from an open call for presentations. A tangled hierarchy is a hierarchical system in which a strange loop appears.
I am a strange loop argues that the key to understanding selves and consciousness is the strange loop,a special kind of abstract feedback loop inhabiting our brains. Jul 08, 2008 i am a strange loop argues that the key to understanding selves and consciousness is the strange loop a special kind of abstract feedback loop inhabiting our brains. Okay, you got me i wrote this list just so i could quote beetlejuice. Oct 19, 2015 the concept of a strange loop was proposed and extensively discussed by douglas hofstadter in godel, escher, bach, and is further elaborated in hofstadters book i am a strange loop, published in. The most central and complex symbol in your brain or mine is the one called i. I am a strange loop king county library system overdrive. Compulsively readable and endlessly thoughtprovoking, this is the book hofstadters many readers have been waiting for. We use language in organisations to allocate person position in the ways we use the words i. Dec 04, 2017 the strange loops explain much of what i experienced and when i combine the information from this video with your what is god parts 1 and 2, im able to recontextualize thanks for that video too the whole experience into a much richer revelation. I am a strange loop argues that the key to understanding selves and consciousness is the strange loop a special kind of abstract feedback loop inhabiting our brains. All content included on our site, such as text, images, digital downloads and other, is the property of its content suppliers and protected by us and international laws.
Compulsively readable and endlessly thoughtprovoking, this is the book hofstadters many. Apr 11, 2016 i love strange and weird books, mostly because i, myself, am strange and unusual. I am a product of my environment, my environment is a product of me, i am a product of my environment, my env you get the point. I am a strange loop by douglas hofstadter issue 78. Strange loop was created in 2009 by software developer alex miller and is now run by a team. In i am a strange loop he gives a more direct explanation of this link.
New york, ny, 2007 isbn 0465030785 pb order this book. All content included on our site, such as text, images, digital downloads and other, is the property of its content suppliers and protected by. Perhaps a certain abstract type of lockedin loop inside the careenium or the cranium, perhaps a shimmering rainbowlike entity that first recedes and then disintegrates entirely as one draws ever closer, perhaps just little miracles of selfreference. Coincidentally enough, this strange loop is in fact is the fundamental reason for what yann lecun describes as the coolest idea in machine learning in the last twenty years. The book of strange new things by michel faber overdrive. I am a strange loop argues that the key to understanding selves and consciousness is the strange loopa special kind of abstract feedback loop inhabiting our brains. Wall street journal i am a strange loop scales some lofty conceptual heights, but it remains very personal, and its deeply colored by the facts of hofstadters later life. I am a strange loop argues that the key to understanding selves and consciousness is the strange loopa special kind of abstract feedback loop inhabiting our. I am a strange loop attempts to correct this problem by better illustrating how inanimate matter can lead to animate beings with awareness and consciousness. The i is the nexus in our brain, one of many symbols seeming to have free will and to have. These are the mysteries tackled in i am a strange loop, douglas hofstadters first booklength journey into philosophy since godel, escher, bach. In the end, we are selfperceiving, selfinventing, lockedin mirages that are little miracles of selfreference. And indeed, it is impossible to come away from this book without having introduced elements of.
A monumental, genredefying novel that david mitchell calls michel fabers second masterpiece, the book of strange new things is a masterwork from a writer in full command of his many talents. The concept of a strange loop was originally developed in his 1979 book godel, escher, bach. The strange loops explain much of what i experienced and when i combine the information from this video with your what is god parts 1 and 2, im able to re. By moving through this cycle one finds oneself where one originally started. At 848 pages, eleanor cattons novel the luminaries, is a whole lot of strange if you think gold mining in 1860s new zealand is a strange premise for. So whether theres something just a little different about the story, or the book is fullon bizarre, here are 100 wonderful weird books i have. Click download or read online button to get i am a strange l oop book now. The most central and complex symbol in your brain is the one called i. Strange loop is a multidisciplinary conference that brings together the developers and thinkers building tomorrows technology in fields such as emerging languages, alternative databases, concurrency, distributed systems, security, and the web. One of our greatest philosophers and scientists of the mind asks, where does the self come fromand how our selves can exist in. It begins with peter, a devoted man of faith, as he is called to the mission of a lifetime, one that takes him galaxies away from his wife, bea.
A strange loop arises when, by moving only upwards or downwards through a hierarchical system, one finds oneself back where one started strange loops may involve selfreference and paradox. Bloomberg news i am a strange loop is vintage hofstadter. Pwlconf 2020 is a fullday papers we love conference, colocated with strange loop in saint louis, missouri on oct 1st. I am a strange loop should not be taken to mean douglas hofstadter is a strange loop. The strange loop is a cyclic system that traverses several layers in a hierarchy. May 19, 2017 at 848 pages, eleanor cattons novel the luminaries, is a whole lot of strange if you think gold mining in 1860s new zealand is a strange premise for a novel, that is. The i is the nexus in our brain, one of many symbols seeming to have free will and to have gained the.
Today, more than two thousand years after heraclitus wrote those words, science has shrunk the boundaries of the soul considerably. I am a strange loop download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. In i am a strange loop, hofstadter, a cognitive and computer scientist at indiana university, describes a more elaborate experiment with video. Has hofstadters concept of strange loop been given a more. Souls and their sizes one problem which has to be faced with anyone looking at the nature of human awareness, no matter what philosophy of mind they prefer, is what other entities can be thought of as possessing such awareness. You would not find the boundaries of the soul no matter how many paths you traveled, so deep is its measure. I am a strange loop by douglas hofstadter on the nature of human consciousness and its relation to empathy. By using the analogy of godels incompleteness theorem, a mathematical system that looks at itself, hofstadter shows how indirect mappings in the human mind can loop back on itself and. These are the mysteries tackled in i am a strange loop, douglas r. Review of hofstadter, douglas r i am a strange loop. I am a strange loop audiobook, by douglas hofstadter. A tangled hierarchy is a hierarchical consciousness system in which a strange loop appears.
Hofstadters first booklength journey into philosophy since godel, escher, bach. Hofstadter, a professor of cognitive science at indiana university, is best known for his pulitzer prize winning godel, escher, bach, or geb as he likes to call it. I am a strange loop by douglas hofstadter scott oreilly loops the loop with douglas hofstadter. The i in the title refers to the concept of the i in all of us. Critics agreed that hofstadter is riveting when sharing his grief over the unexpected death of his wife and his conviction that part of her continues to live on in him. I am a strange loop is a 2007 book by douglas hofstadter, examining in depth the concept of a strange loop to explain the sense of i. I am a strange loop is thoughtful, amusing and infectiously enthusiastic. I am a strange loop by douglas hofstadter 2007 continuing our lifelong conversation with hofstadters brain, we learn how the professor proved the statement made by achilles in a conversation with einsteins brain, i. I love strange and weird books, mostly because i, myself, am strange and unusual. In 1993 hofstadters wife carol died suddenly of a brain tumor at only 42, leaving him with two young children to care for.
He truly provides no concrete reasons to believe only assertions, which are worth pondering if not agreeing with. Compulsively readable and endlessly thoughtprovoking, this is a moving and profound inquiry into the nature of mind. I am the mason and i am the stone believe that the silverware will bend i am the knowing and i am. Mar 26, 2007 i am a strange loop should not be taken to mean douglas hofstadter is a strange loop. And the book does an excellent job of presenting his views on just how the i forms in a brain, what kind of hardware may be necessary for an i, what kinds of i am out there, and on. However, i am a strange loop is a much more personal effort, an intellectual autobiography time of the last 30 years of hofstadters life. Please help to improve it, or discuss the issue on the talk page.
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