I Am a Strange Loop

I Am a Strange Loop

Infobox Book
name = I Am A Strange Loop


image_caption =
author = Douglas Hofstadter
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = USA
language = English
series =
subject = Consciousness, strange loops, intelligence
publisher = Basic Books
release_date = March 26th, 2007
media_type = Hardback
pages = 412 pages
isbn = 978-0465030781
preceded_by = Gödel, Escher, Bach

"I Am a Strange Loop" is a 2007 book by Douglas Hofstadter, examining in depth the concept of a "strange loop" originally developed in his 1979 book "Gödel, Escher, Bach".

Hofstadter had previously expressed disappointment with how "Gödel, Escher, Bach" was received. In the preface to the twentieth-anniversary edition, Hofstadter laments that his book has been misperceived as a hodge-podge of neat things with no central theme. He states: "GEB is a very personal attempt to say how it is that animate beings can come out of inanimate matter. What is a self, and how can a self come out of stuff that is as selfless as a stone or a puddle?" [cite book
last = Hofstadter
first = Douglas R.
authorlink = Douglas R. Hofstadter
title = Gödel, Escher, Bach
publisher = Basic Books
date = 1999
pages = P-2 (Twentieth-anniversary preface)
isbn = 0465026567 ]

He sought to remedy this problem in "I Am a Strange Loop", by focusing on and expounding upon the central message of "Gödel, Escher, Bach". He seeks to demonstrate how the properties of self-referential systems, demonstrated most famously in Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem, can be used to describe the unique properties of minds. [ [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1599720,00.html The Year of Mathemagical Thinking] March 15, 2007] [ [http://www.megite.com/discover/hofstadter Hofstadter pages] at Megite/Discover]

As an exploration of the concept of "self", Hofstadter explores his own life, and those he has been close to. [ [http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=C7265AEC-E7F2-99DF-3B3A60DE6200D457&chanID=sa006&colID=12 A New Journey into Hofstadter's Mind] - book review by George Johnson in "Scientific American", March 2007] cite web
url = http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/15.03/play.html?pg=3
title = Me, My Soul, and I
accessdate = 2007-12-10
month = March
year = 2007
work = Wired] [ [http://www.americanscientist.org/template/InterviewTypeDetail/assetid/54803 Author Interview] by Greg Ross, "American Scientist Online", March 22, 2007] [ [http://olimu.com/Journalism/2007/Texts/StrangeLoop.htm The I's Have It] - book review by John Derbyshire, The Wall Street Journal, March 23, 2007] [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/01/magazine/01wwlnQ4.t.html?_r=1&ref=magazine&oref=slogin The Mind Reader] New York Times Magazine, April 1, 2007] [cite journal
url = http://www.ams.org/notices/200707/tx070700852p.pdf
format = pdf
accessdate = 2007-12-10
journal = Notices of the American Mathematical Society
issue = 7
pages = 853
last = Gardner
first = Martin
authorlink = Martin Gardner
month = august
year = 2007
title = Do Loops Explain Consciousness? Review of "I Am a Strange Loop"
volume = 54]

External links

* [http://tal.forum2.org/hofstadter_interview An interview with Douglas R. Hofstadter about "I am a Strange Loop".]

See also

* Autopoiesis
* Droste effect
* Euthyphro dilemma
* Feedback loop
* "Gödel, Escher, Bach"
* Identity, in particular, the Ship of Theseus paradox
* Klein bottle
* Möbius strip
* Optical feedback
* Paradox
* Shepard tone
* Strange loop

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Strange loop — A strange loop arises when, by moving up or down through a hierarchical system, one finds oneself back where one started. Strange loops may involve self reference and paradox. The concept of a strange loop was proposed and extensively discussed… …   Wikipedia

  • Strange loop — Eine seltsame Schleife ist ein Fall von Selbstbezüglichkeit, bei dem der Gegenstand, der den Ausgangspunkt bildet, betroffen ist oder sogar beschädigt wird. Dabei kann ein Paradoxon entstehen. Eingeführt und ausführlich diskutiert wurde der… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Loop (graph theory) — In graph theory, a loop (also called a self loop) is an edge that connects a vertex to itself. A simple graph contains no loops.Depending on the context, a graph or a multigraph may be defined so as to either allow or disallow the presence of… …   Wikipedia

  • loop-legged — mod. alcohol intoxicated. □ He’s too loop legged to drive. □ She has this strange tendency to get a little loop legged when she has four or five drinks …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

  • Time loop — A time loop or temporal loop is a common plot device in science fiction (especially in universes where time travel is commonplace) in which time runs normally for a set period (usually a day or a few hours) but then skips back like a broken… …   Wikipedia

  • Allen Strange — (* 26. Juni 1943 in Calexico/Kalifornien; † 20. Februar 2008 auf Bainbridge Island/Washington) war ein US amerikanischer Komponist, Musiktheoretiker und Musiker. Strange studierte bis 1967 an der California State University, Fullerton Komposition …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • List of Strange Days at Blake Holsey High episodes — The following is a list of episodes of the Discovery Kids series Black Hole High which premiered on October 5, 2002 and ended on January 28, 2006. A total of 42 episodes were produced spanning 4 seasons. Contents 1 Series overview 2 Season 1:… …   Wikipedia

  • for a loop — adverb 1. : into a state of amazement, excitement, or confusion members of the cast were thrown for a loop when they caught sight of him Cornelia O. Skinner that strange poetic touch which knocks the Japanese for a loop Time 2. : into a usually… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Coordinated management of meaning — (CMM), is a practical theory[1] that sees communication as doing things fully as much as talking about them. Taking the communication perspective consists of looking at communication (rather than through it to what it is ostensibly about) and… …   Wikipedia

  • Douglas Hofstadter — Douglas R. Hofstadter Hofstadter in Bologna, Italy, in March 2002 Born February 15, 1945 (1945 02 15) (age 66) New York, New York Occupation …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”