I Am a Strange Loop

by Douglas R. Hofstadter
I Am a Strange Loop  
published March 26th 2007 by Basic Books
binding Hardcover
isbn 0465030785   (isbn13: 9780465030781)
pages 384
description Douglas Hofstadter's long-awaited return to the themes of Gödel, Escher, Bach--an original and controversial view of the nature of conscio...more
date added
02-18-07



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Chuck
Chuck rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
12/22/07

Read in January, 2007
recommends it for: Patient game lovers
Twenty-eight years ago, Douglas Hofstadter published a book titled "Goedel, Escher, Bach" that earned him instant academic renown and a cultlike following. A mathematician friend recommended the book to me, and I tried mightily to read it, keeping at it more because of my admiration for my friend that for the experience of reading the book. It was either too indirect, too intricately argued, or too Germanic for me to follow, and after months of off and on attempts I finally put it as...more
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Craig
Craig rated it: 1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars
05/13/08

The purpose of this book is to explain the mystery of consciousness. He admits off the top that the concept of the mind and conscious thought is quite difficult to nail down, and probably impossible to draw a distinct line upon. Is a mosquito conscious? After all, it, like us, seems to have a will to live, and responds to environmental stimuli in ways that benefit itself. If not a mosquito, is a bee conscious? A fish? A snake? A dog?

He does so by describing the mind's process of something li...more
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Fred
Fred rated it: 2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars
03/14/08

bookshelves: currently-reading
Read in January, 2008
I've been reading "I Am A Strange Loop" by Douglas Hofstadter. The development of his theme is slow, so I read the epilogue to find out if he was coming to anything other than where he seemed to be going. The epilogue seems to be about the same as the first few chapters.

I skipped around the book a little and found this intriguing discussion on page 322 called 'Two Daves.' He presents a mental experiment of two universes, identical in every detail except that univers...more
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Brodie
Brodie rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
08/12/07

bookshelves: theoryandphilosophy
Read in July, 2007
I enjoyed much of Hostetter's account of the ways in which a strictly biological account of cognition fails to grasp the complexities of consciousness and identities. I did find, however, his account of how identity is dispersed and externalized the be somewhat unconvincing, thought not because I disagree with the concept but with his interpretation of the concept. He tries to argue through several chapters that the decentered--"strange loopiness"--of consciousness comes about becaus...more
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Alan
Alan rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
07/08/08

Read in June, 2008
Douglas Hofstadter's I Am A Strange Loop is a strange book. It's written by an academic and takes the form of a scholarly work, with detailed endnotes and an extensive bibliography, but at the same time it's deeply personal and, often (especially in the first half of the book) just silly.

This is not so much of a stylistic departure for Hofstadter, of course, nor is it necessarily an indictment - his landmark Gödel, Escher, Bach is ful...more
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Kevin
Kevin rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
05/30/08

bookshelves: thought-provoking
Read in May, 2008
Hofstader's latest tome submits the rather disqueting notion that our sense of "I" is a myth. Using colorful analogies to explicate complex themes, the author is generally faithful to his pledge to make the book accessible for laymen. It seems trite to commend a book for superficial qualities like readability, but Hofstaders universe of cutting edge research and groundbreaking theories is typically translated through scholarly papers (analogous to appreciating baseball solely through s...more
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Andy
Andy rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
09/04/08

bookshelves: own
Read in August, 2008
I'm about halfway through, and expect I'll update this after I finish, but I've been loving this book so far. I haven't read Godel, Escher, Bach, so I can't compare this yet, as many have, but the book wrestles with the nature of self, and the "soul" in ways that I've considered before.

While it's ultimately building to a conclusion, I imagine, at times it feels like Hofstadter is just riffing on topics that interest him. This is all right with me, because he's so interesti...more
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shawn
shawn rated it: 1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars
04/30/08

bookshelves: 3-read-within-the-last-three-years
Read in May, 2007
recommends it for: no one
i am sorry to give this book one measly star. i am a huge admirer of hofstadter's work. i would fanatically recommend any of his books, which are all fantastic and required reading by this point for all intellectually-minded people interested in "putting it all together". i was therefore ecstatic that he should finally publish another book, but crushed upon reading it.

the principle point is that though he purports to have some new big answer, this book merely retraces terrain h...more
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Eli
Eli rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
04/29/08

Read in April, 2008
recommends it for: compassionate atheists and people who need to understand how such a concept is possible
Very readable, engaging discussion of potentially difficult but fascinating topics. The overall concept that our sense of "I"ness or self (or soul, as he prefers) is an illusion built up out of a self-referential experiences linked together by memories is not new to me, but there were definitely new aspects that he brought up that shed new light on the hows and whys of it in a purely scientific sense.

I am not a mathematical thinker, so a few of the chapters in the middle dealing w...more
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Tom
Tom rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
07/02/07

Read in August, 2007
recommends it for: Thinkers and math fans
I really liked this book. It is an extremely personal account of a really great theory on what "I" is, what the soul is, and the degree to which we humans are capable of connecting to -- indeed becoming part of -- each other in a literal sense.

Godel, Escher, Bach covered some of the same ground, and at times it got a little technical with the math stuff, but the thesis is extremely compelling. At times I was a bit put off by the large number of analogies that the author uses to g...more
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David M.
David rated it: 2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars
06/03/08

bookshelves: geeky, non-fiction
Read in June, 2008
recommended to David by: Greg
I got about three-quarters of the way through and by then it seemed like Hofstadter had completely lost the plot.

He makes some bold claims about the nature of consciousness, but he doesn't use his terms and concepts rigorously enough to keep his arguments straight, and he doesn't do much work to back them up anyway.

It amounts to listening to some friend who got stoned and had an amazing idea. If that friend happens to be Douglas Hofstadter, it's probably worth your while to stick around...more
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Eric
Eric rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
09/04/08

bookshelves: currently-reading
Read in September, 2008
In a more-accessible followup to his Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece Godel, Escher, and Bach, Hofstadter states more clearly the central thesis of his previous book while avoiding the more in-depth explorations that detracted from the theme in his previous books.

Gone is the didactic style, dialogues, and technical portions of the original book, but his droll style and sections personal tone are increased, making this book read more like a personal manifesto than a dry, expository philosop...more
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Roger
Roger rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
12/11/07

Read in December, 2007
I think I was predisposed to believe Douglas Hofstadter's arguments on souls and consciousness based on my own conclusions and thoughts, but nonetheless I felt the arguments he makes are not just convincing but, more importantly, incredibly thought-provoking. I really enjoy reading books about things that you rarely give much thought to, by people for which those questions defined a central quest of their lives. Just by reading them, you are forced to take the time to seriously consider them, an...more
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Michael
Michael rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
07/09/08

bookshelves: currently-reading
Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in January, 2008
recommended to Michael by: A Nerd
recommends it for: Nerds
Well let me start by saying this is one of the toughest reads I have ever attempted. Very high brow and often too analytical and scientific to be completely enjoyed. Having said that, it is a brilliant work from a brilliant man on the idea and science behind human consciousness and how we become the personalities we are.

I'm a sucker for consciousness and the meta-physical relationship between the soul (mind) and body. I stumbled upon this book online and decided to buy it. If anything it has...more
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Claus
Claus rated it: 2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars
02/22/08

bookshelves: non-fiction
Read in February, 2008
I read Hofstadter's "Gödel, Escher, Bach" many years ago and was completely taken aback by the author's brilliant style and insight.

I read Hofstadter's "Metamagical Themas" many years ago and was fascinated by the author's vast area of expertise.

I read Hofstadter's "Le Ton Beau de Marot" a few years ago and was amazed by the author's enormous knowledge.

I just finished Hofstadter's "I Am a Strange Loop" and was thoroughly disappointed.

The a...more
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Jim
Jim rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
08/25/08

Read in August, 2008
Interesting book as Hofstadter defines his ideas on the nature of consciousness, his answer being a strange loop. He progressively builds up the concept of consciousness and self beginning with simple feedback loops (audio/video feedback, toilet fill valve), Escher's drawings, Russell's Principia Mathematica and Godel's incompleteness theorem, and finally strange loops.

Very well written and he uses many thoughtful and apt metaphors to help illustrate his ideas. I did find it a bit verbos...more
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Nicholas
Nicholas rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
02/21/08

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in February, 2008
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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Derek
Derek rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
09/21/07

bookshelves: read--nonfiction
Read in July, 2007
recommends it for: Anyone curious about consciousness
I've been a Hofstadter fan since Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid. He presents a lot of dense material in a very easy to read format that should appeal to laypeople, CogSci people and philosophers alike. I'm not sure I accept all of this conclusions but at the VERY least his book provides some wonderful insight into how we ought to frame some of our questions as to the essential properties of mindfulness. Hofstadter is a consummate polymath and pulls in creative examples and corre...more
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Brady
Brady rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
07/19/08

Read in July, 2008
Douglas Hofstader is a wonder, tackling the almost incomprehensible Big Question of "What is the I?" with relative clarity and wit. He is a master of metaphor and analogy, eschewing a microscopic understanding of how the brain works to giving a sensible, rational (though revolutionary) macroscopic explanation of what we commonly refer to as "the soul". Hofstader is certainly no Cartesian dualist, but his ideas are neither what you would expect from a material monist.

Hofst...more
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Danjo
Danjo rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
03/21/08

Read in November, 2007
There were multiple instances where I set the book down and considered not continuing; not because it isn't well written, but I wasn't sure if I was capable of handling any more. At some point you start to mess around with the yarn that composes your mind, and you start to wonder if maybe you aren't unravelling something important.

If this book creates in my mind a clear symbol for the way in which my mind creates symbols, will I die? Go comatose? This is the only book that has seriously...more
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book data (includes all editions)

avg rating (all editions): 3.73 (249 ratings)
avg rating (this edition): 3.72 (247 ratings)
number of reviews: 62






other editions

Ich bin eine seltsame Schleife (Gebundene Ausgabe)
I Am a Strange Loop (Paperback)