Kaylee's Reviews > Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid

After an entire tome about the workings of the mind and what it means to be intelligent, you'd think the author would be more self-aware by the end of the book than to say, "indirect self-reference is my favorite topic".

No, Mr. Hofstadter, blatant self-reference is your favorite topic.

I'm notoriously bad at distancing the creation from the creator, so perhaps I was biased from the start -- reading the 20th anniversary intro was like listening to a narcissist who insists he's modest. I didn't find what followed to be original, revolutionary, or brilliant; rather, I found it repetitive, regurgitated, and egotistical. Each chapter, he spent many pages questioning himself and the reader about connections between DNA, Godel's Theorem, fuges, AI, and many other topics from a well-educated mind. Ultimately, he would "prove" himself right -- usually by citing someone else's work with great derision.

Hofstadter has led a very privileged life by somehow accomplishing the task of convincing people that his educated acid trip is something to be read and cherished. Bravo to him. I'd love to see his reaction now that so many of his predictions have proven false (a topic not touched on in the 20th anniversary intro).