Comment by Munksgaard | Hacker News Reader

Comment by Munksgaard | Hacker News Reader

I suffer under the same affliction Nancy is describing: I cannot bear the idea of putting down a book that I've started.

Currently I'm struggling to get through Gödel, Escher, Bach. I like the ideas presented, especially the parallels between music and art (which I know little about) on one hand, and mathematics and computer science (which I know more about) on the other hand. But I think that it lacks focus and a clear thread. Additionally, I already know most of the mathematical concepts presented in the book, so I don't feel like I benefit much from the long chapters detailing various proofs and formal systems. To make matters worse, Hofstadter avoids using conventional notation and terminology, so I'll be reading through page upon page of detailed descriptions of his own little formal system only to finally realize "Oh, he's just describing propositional logic in a roundabout way".

Meanwhile, I've got a bunch of other interesting books sitting on my shelf that I'd like to read. Alas, there are only about 300 pages left...

One great thing about Gödel, Escher, Bach is that you can enjoy it by flipping it open to a random place and reading a few pages, or if you don't like it or get it, flip to a different section. It's neither a novel nor a textbook. You don't have to understand A, B, C, & D, before you can understand (or at least appreciate) E. I treated like a coffee table book, reading 2/3 of it but randomly.

I was in almost exactly your position two or three years ago. I appreciated reading about Bach's self-referential patterns and had some fun playing with the toy formal systems, but as someone with a background in pure mathematics I found much of it long-winded and tedious. I carried on trying to slog through it because a friend (who's sister had bought it for him) shoved it into my hands on the proviso that I explain to him what it was all about. Eventually - about halfway through - I simply surrendered in the face of mounting gratuitous discourse. I just wanted it to cut to the chase.

I've never struggled stopping with non-fiction, I think because at Uni when studying philosophy they often recommended a lot of books with "read chapter 10 + 14" of a book.

Often the rest of the book was a boring, pointless drudgery that rehashed arguments I'd already read and that really opened my eyes.

I remember more than once deciding to read the whole book instead of the recommended chapters. Descarte's Meditations springs to mind, the first half of the book is great (think therefore I am), the 2nd half is bad (trying to prove the existence of god, having just disproved him).

Also, I read Immanuel Kant and he is probably one of the worst famous writers in history. He was awful at expressing himself, and if you've had to endure that, you learn to skip chapters at a time looking for the crux of a book. Hegel was similarly bad I seem to remember.

I give you permission to put down GEB. If you already know some logic and music, there's no point in reading it.

I disgree, but only the stories of Tortoise and Achilles. They're the most original bits in the book and they make great repeat reading, reading aloud to others, etc.

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