Godel, Esher, Bach: an Eternal Braid (DNF)

A metaphorical fugue on minds and machines in the spirit of Lewis Carroll

Author: Douglas R. Hofstadter

Started: 7 Jan

Stopped: 12 Jan

I've had this one on my shelf for a few years. It's just not for me.

I assumed it would be combine technical mathematical rigor with theory (it does).

The inclusion of music, programming, art, artificial intelligence, and many other disciplines to explain consciousness drew me in.

But the puzzles--while interesting--were long-winded and uninteresting.

The dialogues between Achilles and Tortoise, though written well, do little to break up the monotony of this dense text.

Only those who REALLY enjoy math (graduate level math involving axioms, theories, and proofs) will be able to power through.

I reached chapter 4 before I put it down. This one's going in the sell pile.