When I was in grad school I noticed that Gödel, Escher, Bach was the book about mathematics that non-mathematicians had on their coffee table. The one that the mathematicians had was The Mathematical Experience.

If I had to name only one other book, for this audience I'd have to go with Code Complete.

Been wanting to read "Godel ..." for years. Care to elaborate a bit on why it's a favorite?

I first read it years ago, 1979 or 1980. It was the first time I ever thought about how math related to music, art and nature. I had never heard of recursion or self-reference, never programmed a machine to do anything, never thought about how it could be done, or why I might want to do it.

So the book opened up new worlds for me. It changed the way I think.

How do you think you'd rate it today, already knowing about all those things? It's sitting on my table in my to read stack but I haven't managed to get to it yet.

My (potentially unpopular) feeling about GEB is that it's a book that explores some very interesting areas but that doesn't say all that much of interest itself. Reading it I felt like different sections could be put into two categories: (good and somewhat romantic) exposition about something interesting, and observations that seem profound until you think about them and realize that they're stupid (e.g. Hofstadter spends some time discussing how a Bach piece that ends up one semitone higher than it starts [and can therefore be repeated to form an infinite ascension] embodies self-referentiality and that this is the critical component of self-awareness, and that therefore the two are connected; of course, this is all just more-or-less meaningless fluff).

So I'd say skip it.

I have to agree. I found the dialouges mind numbing.

Yeah - I much preferred "The Emperors New Mind" Which covers many of the same themes without the pretentiousness.

Yeah - I much preferred "The Emperors New Mind" Which covers many of the same themes without the pretentiousness.

To give an alternate opinion. You should read through the first dialogue and the following chapter, then decide for yourself. Maybe skip ahead a bit. I read half of it sitting in a library when I didn't really have time to read it, it presented ideas I hadn't thought before. I hadn't heard of figure and ground, at least not generalized, so I enjoyed noticing that my conversations jumped around the subject rather than being on the subject. I also hadn't heard about recursion before, so...

If the writing engages you then you and presents interesting ideas, to you, in a non-obvious way, then it is worth reading.

"This sentence is a lie"

That pretty much sums it up.

>Been wanting to read "Godel ..." for years... Me too. I have the book but every time I try to read it I go to sleep. (May be I just get in an infinite loop)