Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid?

Picking it up from the library tomorrow. It looked interesting.

Any reviews from those who have read it? It's from the 80s ... wouldn't the info be a bit outdated?

Holy hell, that sounds endlessly fascinating. Haven't heard of it previously though.

Oh, it's supposed to be. The author, Hofstadter, makes connections between elements of Gödel, Escher and Bach (self-referential proofs, paintings within paintings and loop geometry, Neverending Fugues) and creates this huge mess of paradoxes, infinities, and loops, and then ties it into artificial intelligence. Apparently this guy worked like Sagan in computer science - thousands of fans literally got up and got degrees because of the book.
... So naturally, I'm looking forward to reading it. Been putting it off for work and such.

Originally Posted by rymdenbarn

Picking it up from the library tomorrow. It looked interesting.

Any reviews from those who have read it? It's from the 80s ... wouldn't the info be a bit outdated?

It's a great book. It helped kick off my interest in computer science, AI, and the foundations of mathematics. It also pointed me in the right direction on philosophy of mind. I wouldn't exactly say the views presented within hold up to academic scrutiny, so I'm not sure I'd get the same thing out of it now, but that's not the point - it's worth reading because it can be inspiring for the right kind of mind.