Goedel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid (Real)

The Hitchhiker's Choice Of Books For Killing Time In Spaceports

Author: Rickard Andersson
Date: 1994/07/14
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If you're going to carry around one book when hitchhiking through the known universe (and probably in the unknown parts too), one good choice is Goedel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas R. Hofstadter. It is a great book that takes the reader through a lot of interesting ideas and brings new light on many things. The lifetime creations of Goedel, Escher, and Bach are the string through the book. And there are a number of dialogues with the characters of Achilles, the Tortoise, and some of their friends. This must be a hitchhiker's first choice of book for killing time (and small furry creatures) in spaceports.

To describe the book is not a easy task. I will just mention some of the things that are discussed and explained in it, and hopefully you will get the hang of it.

• Artificial Intelligence and philosophical ideas
• Many pictures by M. C. Escher and the techniques behind them
• Computer models and the Babbage Engine
• DNA-structures and biochemistry
• Harmony and fractals
• Formal logic and (in)computability
• ZEN and a lot of Koans
• Pattern recognition and perceptions
• Cosmic views and the continuum hypothesis
• Description of Turing and his problem
• Randomness and set theory
• Cognitive science
• And of course, musical themes by Bach and how to interpret them

All these things, and a lot more, are weaved together to a very interesting and quite heavy book. It's a sure bet if you want something to read again and again. It will make all the years waiting for a spaceship seem like a short passage of time (and space).

This book is entitled to:

:-) :-) :-) :-) :-)

(5 Smileys, in a scale from one to five.)

See also

• Top Twenty-Six Ways To Kill Time