***Godel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstedter I've yet to successfully finish this book on metamathematics. However, it has influenced me greatly, and not in a manner purely limited to mathematics. Much of my tendency to view all thought as a work in progress rather than a promised road to results has to do with the various discussions in this work regarding the Incompleteness Theorem of Kurt Godel. When one thinks about it, it does seem likely that any system of explanation might have an item that can be proven neither true nor false under the aegis of that system of thought. Of course, my extraction of meaning just presented is very probably subject to the same sort of "neither true nor false" type of restriction. More reason to view thought as a road, not a destination. Return to Books Return to Media Influences Return to main page |
| Godel, Escher, Back Douglas Hofstedter |