Bachs endlessly rising canon gives the musical form of strange loopiness, continuing forever. The dialogue makes use of several words with multiple meanings, e. The book ends on this dialogue involving six characters. As in a fugue, each new voice opens with the same line, in hofstadters case i can. In this dialogue, theyre discussing the tortoises record that broke crabs record. A crab canon is an arrangement of two musical lines that are complementary and backward. The book is, like most of hofstadters previous works, a discussion of the nature of consciousness, the meaning of self, and the possibility of artificial. By exploring common themes in the lives and works of logician kurt godel, artist m. Synthesized recordings of the endlessly rising canon on the shepard scale can be found on the web. Hofstadter acknowledges that the dialogue bears hardly any resemblance, except in title to the music.
You might try checking those threads out i remember john b. Hofstadter uses crab canon as a jumping off point to explain number theory. In response to confusion over the books theme, hofstadter emphasized that godel, escher, bach is not about the. An eternal golden braid is a classic text thats had a strong influence on countless people. The tagline a metaphorical fugue on minds and machines in the spirit of lewis carroll was used by the publisher to describe the book. Eschers crab canon engraving, and hofstadters own crab canon dialogue geb, pp. Escher his 1965 work crab canon and doug hofstadter his pulitzer prize winning godel, escher, bach. I wanted to use a crab canon, hermit crab on vimeo.
A crab canonalso known by the latin form of the name, canon cancrizansis an arrangement of two musical lines that are complementary and backward, similar to a palindrome. It is perhaps the densest dialogue in the book in terms of formal trickery and levelplay. I was 12 years old, in foyles bookshop with my mother. The genius of j s bach crab canon visualized on a mobius. Escher has written about bachs influence on his work, but its unknown whether this particular piece was inspired by the crab canon specifically. Besides being a profound and entertaining meditation on human thought and creativity, this book looks at the surprising points of contact between the music of bach, the artwork of escher, and the mathematics of godel. Achilles, tortoise, crab, dh, turing, and babbage, and ends in the most appropriate way it possibly could. Seaside canon, for douglas hofstadter raw audio sample values. When i first came across a type of poetry called a crab canon, i was. Godel, escher, bach 20th anniversary edition slashdot. Such an informationpreserving transformation is often called an isomorphism, and we will have much tra.
Hofstadter isnt too shy to reveal both his devices themselves and, later. The crab canon is a major point of discussion in douglas hofstadters classic book godel, escher, bach, and the reason why bach appears in the title. An eternal golden braid has widened the eyes of multiple generations of nerdy kids, and i was certainly no exception. Eschers crab canon engraving, and hofstadter s own crab canon dialogue geb, pp. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read. Bachs strange loop is what the book calls the endlessly rising canon done with shepard tones, as described near the end of the book.
May 22, 20 this crab canon is different from my previous crab canon in the following aspects. The book opens with the story of bachs musical offering. Achilles and the tortoise happen upon each other in the park one day while strolling. The book godel, escher, bach geb is an imaginative exploration of the nature of consciousness, as seen through the metaphorical lenses of mathematician kurt godels selfreferential logic, artist m.
It is a book that attempts to discover what self really means. Is there any way to read hofstadters godel escher bach and. Oct 24, 2009 hofstadter decided to translate the french character as madame tortue, and the italian version as signorina tartaruga. Douglas hofstadter s book is concerned directly with the nature of maps or links between formal systems.
Oct 11, 2017 the genius of j s bach crab canon visualized on a mobius strip audio hd. Douglas hofstadters book is concerned directly with the nature of maps or links between formal systems. Hofstadter is about as interesting and insightful as a yearold stoner who got a hold of some of his dads reference books. It is perhaps the densest dialogue in the book in terms of formal trickery and level play. Readings godel, escher, bach experimental study group. Play bachs crab canon backwards or reflect eschers crab canon in a mirror, and youll hearsee the same thing as the unchanged original. This canon was conceived after serendipitously finding a poem written by. Escher, and composer johann sebastian bach, the book expounds concepts fundamental to. So in a way the strange loop that began with geb, and which ran through our house in suburban massachusetts in the 1980s, had miraculously closed itself. Besides being a profound and entertaining meditation on human thought and creativity, this book looks at the surprising points of contact between the music of bach, the artwork of escher, and.
Hofstadter s dialogue reflects this by having tortoises and achilles conversation before crab s arrival be replayed in reverse after crab leaves with tortoise saying everything achilles. After typing all that out, i came across this excerpt from the book. The book godel, escher, bach geb is an imaginative exploration of the. Is there any way to read hofstadters godel escher bach. Bach book of douglas hofstadter and by the seaside canon poem by julia galef. Hofstadter is the son of nobel prizewinning douglas richard hofstadter is an american scholar of cognitive science, physics, and comparative literature whose research. Twenty years after it topped the bestseller charts, douglas r. Chromatic fantasy, and feud the title is a pun on the chromatic fantasia and fugue bwv 903. Godel, escher, bach geb debates the question of consciousness and the possibility of artificial intelligence. Full text of godel, escher, bach an eternal golden braid see other formats. In it, hofstadter wrote a dialogue between the tortoise and achilles that he called crab canon after bachs music because the dialogue is presented in one order, and then repeated in reverse order. Textbook of simple and double counterpoint including imitation or canon, p.
Hofstadter calls this the defining property of a crab canon p. A crab canon, as our the reading of a book and its interpretation are determined in part by the cytoplasmic soup in which it is taken up. The book is, like most of hofstadter s previous works, a discussion of the nature of consciousness, the meaning of self, and the possibility of artificial. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. A crab canon for douglas hofstadter posted on monday, jun 6, 2011 9.
The score is at imslp, in multiple free editions i attach one of them. A palindromic poem for douglas hofstadter originally published here since it first came out in 1979, douglas hofstadters pulitzer prizewinning book godel, escher, bach. Hofstadter, well beyond having given him a word to fill out the books title. Books by richard hofstadter author of antiintellectualism. An eternal golden braid published initally over 20 years ago debates, beautifully, the question of consciousness and the possibility of artificial. He knew, however, that there were a million issues to consider when translating, 11 since the book relies not only on wordplay but structural puns as wellwriting where the form and content of the work mirror each other such as the crab canon dialogue, which reads almost exactly the same forwards as backwards. Its only a palindrome if you combine the notes from the two parts together without distinguishing which part they came from. Nirankari rajmata discourses eei curriculum unit grade 8. One dialogue in the book is written in the form of a crab canon, in which every line before the midpoint. I highly recommend this book to anyone, by the way.
Written by douglas hofstadter, this book won the pulitzer prize, and. A crab canon also known by the latin form of the name, canon cancrizans. A palindromic poem for douglas hofstadter julia galef. Definitely a book worth checking out click below to read more. Richard hofstadters most popular book is antiintellectualism in american life.
A crab canon also known by the latin form of the name, canon cancrizansis an arrangement of two musical lines that are complementary and backward, similar to a palindrome. In a few dialogs, such as the crab canon and the concluding. Crab canon hofstadter s entire dialogue structure emerged from writing a dialogue based on the musical offerings crab canon canon. This crab canon is different from my previous crab canon in the following aspects. Full text of godel, escher, bach an eternal golden braid. I feel like a 17thcentury magician whos decoded the language of angels and demons and who now has access to powers he can barely understand. Notice that they are the same, only one forwards while the other goes backwards this is the defining property of the form called crab canon. He never knew who made it, but he liked it enough that he put it in his new book. An eternal golden braid commonly geb is a pulitzer prizewinning book by douglas hofstadter, 1 described by the author as a metaphorical fugue on minds and machines in the spirit of lewis carroll.
A crab canon, as our musicologists will tell you, inverts and reverses the main theme of the canon. Escher and composer johann sebastian bach, geb expounds. Its also a very playful book, full of puzzles, puns, and imagined dialogues between achilles and a tortoise which weave in and out of the main. Hofstadter, well beyond having given him a word to fill out the book s title. Dec 21, 2017 ill tell you the story of how i read geb. Thus, this piece is identical played forward or backward and has been described as a musical moebius strip. This book stretched my mind more than almost any other book ive read. A crab canon for douglas hofstadter 3 quarks daily. Notice that they are the same, only one forwards while the other goes backwards this is the defining property of the form called crab canon in music. Its not just a crab canon, its also a palindrome canon. An eternal golden braid is still something of a marvel. The film is inspired by the crab canon presented in douglas r. Richard hofstadter has 29 books on goodreads with 29530 ratings. Its a venerated book among a certain stripe of computer scientist and mathematician, and its reputed to have inspired generations of people to pursue the study of logic and artificial intelligence.
Earlier diaries are here today well discuss crab canon pages 199203 i will leave the nex. Crab canon definition and meaning collins english dictionary. Theres a section in the middle describing a figure in the book which disrupts the dialogue so skip over that. Hofstadter and bachs little harmonic labyrinth mzd forums. It is a philosophy book that reads like music, a work of art that many consider second to none.
Another incredibly complex dialogue from douglas hofstadter. This canon was conceived after serendipitously finding a poem written by julia galef, who kindly granted me. An eternal golden braid, also known as geb, is a 1979 book by douglas hofstadter. Sloth canon this is the name hofstadter gave to the canon by augmentation in the musical offering. This time structured around a musical device employed by bach called a crab canon. Winner of the pulitzer prizea metaphorical fugue on minds and machines in the spirit of lewis carrolldouglas hofstadters book is concerned directly with the nature of maps or links between formal systems. Seaside canon, for douglas hofstadter raw audio sample. Why i dont love godel, escher, bach infinite negative utility. Bach made an impromptu visit to king frederick the great of prussia, and was. I was a fan of martin gardner and was looking through his books in the mathematics section when she picked up an enormous book with an impossible tri. Hofstadter s godel, escher, bach 20th anniversary edition. An eternal golden braid commonly geb is a pulitzer prize winning book by douglas hofstadter, described as a metaphorical fugue on. Furthermore, what you discuss here is a lot like what some have discussed with cervantes don quixote. When you reverse the raw audio samples and listen to the result, you get the same piece again.
If life can grow out of the formal chemical substrate of the cell, if consciousness can emerge out of a formal system of firing neurons, then so too will. Bach created an endlessly rising canon, in which it ends and immediately restarts. Escher, and composer johann sebastian bach, the book expounds concepts fundamental to mathematics, symmetry, and intelligence. Its clumsy and simple but i got it to sound okay backwards and forwards and over itself. Escher and composer johann sebastian bach, discussing common themes in their work and lives. Because of other troubles translators might have retaining the meaning of the book, hofstadter painstakingly went through every last sentence of geb, annotating a copy for translators into any language that might be targeted. Oct 09, 2014 the first example i could find of writing that was called a crab canon was in the book godel, escher, bach by douglas hofstadter. However, according to hofstadter, the formal system that underlies all mental activity transcends the system that supports it. Hofstadter and bachs little harmonic labyrinth im intrigued about the book. Hes returned to the book to try and explain what the book is really aboutusing a new foreword. This readers soup consists of a large portion of metaphiction.
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