Léo Varnet · @leovarnet
642 followers · 463 posts · Server qoto.org

I couldn't agree more! It's not that Douglas 's Gödel Escher Bach: there are some brilliant ideas in it. But I don't get all the fuzz around this book. It aims very high: showing recursion as an unifying pattern of maths, and art, in a recursive manner... But the result is quite verbose, with a lot of hand-waving. Honestly, I prefer a book like "Metamagical themas", where Hofstadter shares his reflections on these topics without trying to add stylistic effects.
mastodon.social/users/alatitud @alatitude77

#GödelEscherBach #hofstadter #cognitivescience #bookstodon #idontlike

Last updated 1 year ago

Léo Varnet · @leovarnet
641 followers · 463 posts · Server qoto.org

I couldn't agree more! It's not that Douglas 's Gödel Escher Bach: there are some brilliant ideas in it. But I don't get all the fuzz around this book. It aims very high: showing recursion as an unifying pattern of maths, and art, in a recursive manner... But the result is quite verbose, with a lot of hand-waving. Honestly, I prefer a book like "Metamagical themas", where Hofstadter shares his reflections on these topics without trying to add stylistic effects.
mastodon.social/users/alatitud

#idontlike #cognitivescience #bookstodon #hofstadter #GödelEscherBach

Last updated 1 year ago

Stephan · @TheTraveller
309 followers · 405 posts · Server sw-development-is.social

Numbers are strange.

(I'm reading , BTW. 😉)

#GödelEscherBach

Last updated 2 years ago

Stephan · @TheTraveller
302 followers · 362 posts · Server sw-development-is.social

OK. I did it and bought the English original of . It's surprisingly easy to read (and hopefully understand 😀). During the ≈30 years since I got the German translation I learned some additional English, it seems. 😄

The 23-page preface added some interesting additional context. – And I do wonder what the additional 20 years since the 20th anniversary edition have brought us. 😃

#GödelEscherBach

Last updated 2 years ago

Stephan · @TheTraveller
304 followers · 346 posts · Server sw-development-is.social

Getting a bit philosophical while rereading a translation of ‘Gödel, Escher, Bach’, wondering how much information got lost due to the translation – and which parts of it. If any…

And how much would still be lost, even if I read the English original (given that I’m not a native English speaker).

#GödelEscherBach

Last updated 2 years ago

Stephan · @TheTraveller
301 followers · 326 posts · Server sw-development-is.social

Decided on the book to read over the holidays: 'Gödel, Esche, Bach'. Douglas R. Hofstadter. Klett Kotta. 6. printing. 1985.

Nineteenhundreteightyfive – that's why it's the German translation. 🙂

Wanted to read the English ebook edition, but the preview was disappointing (to say the least) and the reviews complained about it being a badly scanned and OCRed version. 🤷‍♂️

#GödelEscherBach

Last updated 2 years ago

Stephan · @TheTraveller
301 followers · 319 posts · Server sw-development-is.social

One important lesson of (nearly) every puzzle: It's not as simple as it looks at the beginning.

It's a lesson to be remembered for work…: Most people underestimate the effort, even when they take this into account. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hofstadt

#adventofcode #HofstadtersLaw #GödelEscherBach #Hofstadter

Last updated 2 years ago