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Name:   Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid
Author(s)
 
 
Hofstadter, D.
Topics
 
 
Mathematics, Music, Non-Fiction
Source
 
 
Basic Books ISBN: 0465026567
Copyright
 
 
1979; 1999
Description
 
 
Interdisciplinary book explores the patterns and symbols in the works of mathematician Kurt Godel, artist M.C. Escher, and composer Johann Sebastian Bach--and more. Pulitzer Prize winner. Topics Covered: J.S. Bach, M.C. Escher, Kurt Gödel: biographical information and work, artificial intelligence (AI) history and theories, strange loops and tangled hierarchies, formal and informal systems, number theory, form in mathematics, figure and ground, consistency, completeness, Euclidean and non-Euclidean geometry, recursive structures, theories of meaning, propositional calculus, typographical number theory, Zen and mathematics, levels of description and computers; theory of mind: neurons, minds and thoughts; undecidability; self-reference and self-representation; Turing test for machine intelligence.
Average Rating
 
 
Last Updated
 
 
11/12/2007
 
Comments

Contributed by: Parent of Young Scholar  
Rating:
My son was captivated by this book. It is not an easy read, even for an adult, because of the subject matters, but the author uses dialogues (done in the style of Lewis Carroll) throughout the book, which my son thought were hilarious. For example, the first dialogue questions whether motion exists...a physics problem in a comical setting. Hofstadter connects mathematical formal systems, Zen, inconsistency theorems, canonic music , Turing machines, self-referential sentences and more. Good as an introduction to thinking in an interdisciplinary manner--"outside the box."
 
Contributed by: Davidson Young Scholar  
Rating:
A book concerning various mathematical and musical concepts, including Typographical Number System, fugues, and Artificial Intelligence. Also contains short stories, or "Dialogues", to help describe each concept.
 
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