Hofstadter chose the title metamagical themas for his column because it is an anagram of mathematical. If i were to write a sentence that was selfreferential, i would start by using the first person perspective like i have in this sentence. A strange loop is a cyclic structure that goes through several levels in a hierarchical system. Nov 16, 2000 douglas hofstadter presented some self referential sentences in his book metamagical themas, but with an emphasis on numbers and how to construct them, such as this one. An eternal golden braid, first published in 1979, won both the pulitzer prize for general nonfiction and a. Introduction douglas hofstadter 1985 has argued that selfreferential sentences illustrate many of the key properties of complex dynamical systems, in particular psychological systems. Selfreferential definition and meaning collins english. The original selfreferential sentence is, this sentence is false, which also creates a paradox. Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic. To be sure of understanding this concept, try writing your own selfreferential sentences. In the musical offering, bach includes an inscriptions whose first letters combine to spell ricercar, and italian word meaning to seek. This leaves an interesting but messy grey area where you can. This sentence is questioning the intrinsic value of the first two sentences. This is some other book, not what the title and other descriptions indicate.
Definition of selfreferential adjective in oxford advanced learners dictionary. This sentence is to inform you, in case you havent already realized it, that this is a selfreferential story, that is, a story containing sentences that refer to their own structure and function. This sentence contradicts itselfor ratherwell, no, actually it do. But all were not receptive to the idea, some of the readers were sceptical about the utility of selfreference and denied any meaningful output of such activities. It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account hofstadter s law, and meaning lies as much in the mind of the reader as in the haiku.
It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account hofstadters law, and meaning lies as much in the mind of the reader as in the haiku. This leaves an interesting but messy grey area where you can construct evermoreelaborate versions of self contradiction. The book opens with the story of bachs musical offering. It consists of a collection of his columns from scientific american which were written under the same title, alternating with postscripts which expand on the columns and link them together. Review of i am a strange loop by douglas hofstadter part. Selfreferentiality definition of selfreferentiality by. A followup on viral sentences and self replicating structures nomic. When you are not looking at it, this sentence is in spanish.
Pulitzerprize winner douglas hofstadter takes on some weighty and wonderful questions in i am a strange loopamong them, the size of a soul and the vagaries of thoughtand proposes persuasive answers that surprised me both with their simplicity and their sense of optimism. The reference may be expressed either directlythrough some intermediate sentence or formulaor by means of some encoding. Here are some variations on the epimenides paradox. May 19, 2017 here hofstadter quotes from his column metamagical themas an anagram of martin gardners mathematical games in scientific american on selfreferential sentences. Long contents list of illustrations notes on the cover introduction. An example of a selfreferential situation is the one of selfcreation, as the logical organization produces itself the physical structure which creates itself. Hofstadter talks about self referential sentences in geb and mt metamag. Jul 15, 20 i seem to recall some of these posted coming from douglas hofstadter or at least reprinted by him, but here are some more. Hofstadter, 9780465045662, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Selfreferential definition of selfreferential by lexico. The biographers account of the poets life was surprisingly selfreferential. Please, oh please, include me in your list of selfreferential sentences. Review of i am a strange loop by douglas hofstadter part 2.
Computations were done with binary decision diagrams bdds. In this stanza, hofstadter not only translates the form and content, but also wonderfully conveys pushkins own jocular, familiar first and secondperson banter both poet and reader are characters here, and the metaliterary and selfreferential aspects of his work which were downright hofstadterian to. The sentence this sentence cannot be proved talks about itself, but the sentence pa is consistent is not selfreferential in the same way. It is, to borrow from the title of the first essay, a selfreferential book, selfconscious to a degree that will charm many and irritate others. The topic was explored in depth in douglas hofstadters metamagical themas column in scientific american and subsequent book by the same title. Selfreference, computation, and mind ben goertzd and harold bowman 1. Selfreferential dictionary definition selfreferential. This book by douglas hofstadter is subtitled questing for the essence of mind and pattern. It is, to borrow from the title of the first essay, a self referential book, self conscious to a degree that will charm many and irritate others. In philosophy, it also refers to the ability of a subject to speak of or refer to itself, that is. On selfreferential sentences selfreferential sentences. Douglas hofstadter presented some selfreferential sentences in his book metamagical themas, but with an emphasis on numbers and how to construct them, such as this one.
For instance, a picture could be considered self referential if it contains a copy of itself see the animated image above. Oct 03, 2008 please, oh please, include me in your list of selfreferential sentences. Hofstadter s strange loop metaphysics attempts to map consciousness onto self reference, but is a minority position in philosophy of mind. If you describe something such as a book or film as selfreferential, you mean that it. A self modifying game based on reflexivity in law section ii.
The selfreferential jibes and parody elements work well, as do the innumerable anime injokes. A followup on viral sentences and selfreplicating structures nomic. Lest you form a self defeating impression that thinking up self referential sentences is an exclusive pastime of self indulgent mathematicians, ill cite from a small book by william safire. We use cookies to give you the best possible experience. Lest you form a selfdefeating impression that thinking up selfreferential sentences is an exclusive pastime of selfindulgent mathematicians, ill cite from a small book by william safire. If you describe something such as a book or film as self referential, you mean that it. More polymathic razzledazzle from the author of godel, escher, bach 1979, the virtuoso with all the intellectual virtues except measure. Please, oh please, publish me in your collection of selfreferential sentences. Selfreference, computation, and mind sciencedirect. Strange loops may involve selfreference and paradox. Cette phrase en francais est difficile a traduire en anglais. Eschers dragon for example, and music bachs fugues to.
On viral sentences and self replicating structures 4. I would also make it clear that i am talking about myself, not a fictional construct. The offering has a three part fugue, a six part fugue, ten canons, and a trio sonata. Douglas richard hofstadter born february 15, 1945 is an american scholar of cognitive science, physics, and comparative literature whose research includes concepts such as the sense of self in relation to the external world, consciousness, analogymaking, artistic creation, literary translation, and discovery in mathematics and physics. An example of a self referential situation is the one of autopoiesis, as the logical organization produces itself the physical structure which creates itself in metaphysics, self reference is subjectivity, while heteroreference, as it is called see niklas luhmann, is objectivity. He wishes now to turn away from such hardedged, selfreferential postmodern texts and get into a closer intimacy, a greater communion with his readers, the communion. Douglass hofstadters pi in the sky the washington post. It arises when, by moving only upwards or downwards through the system, one finds oneself back where one started. Here are a few more examples of paradoxical selfreferential sentences. Bonus points if you dont explicitly refer to the sentence using the phrase this sentence. The title of abbie hoffmans steal this book is selfreferential douglas hofstadters godel, escher, bach uses selfreferencing mathematical formal language and english natural language sentences, pictures m. Self referential sentences simple ones like this sentence contains five words, paradoxical ones like this sentence is false, self documenting sentences which tally how many of each letter of the alphabet they contain, and a story composed entirely of self referential sentences. This sentence is to inform you, in case you havent already realized it, that this is a self referential story, that is, a story containing sentences that refer to their own structure and function. This is a sentence that provides an ending to the first paragraph.
An eternal golden braid, a huge volume packed with ingenious observations about the products of the working of the. Hofstadter illustrates with his figures how all three abilities above are combined to understand selfreferential sentences. Selfreference 1999 computations preserved from deletion by att worldnets demise. An eternal golden braid amazon paperback by douglas r. Bach made an impromptu visit to king frederick the great of prussia, and was. Hofstadter is best known for his earlier book godel, escher, bach. A playful look at attempts to solve the problems of paradox and self reference, by tim maly self referential. Apr 21, 1985 indeed, the book goes further than did the original columns, self referential enough though they may be, by adding to each chapter a passage summarizing readers comments, mr.
I had to translate this sentence into english because i could not read the original sanskrit. In this sentence, the number of occurences of 0 is 1, of 1 is 11, of 2 is 2, of 3 is 1, of 4 is 1, of 5 is 1, of 6 is 1, of 7 is 1, of 8 is 1, and of 9 is 1. Selfreference the art and popular culture encyclopedia. Introduction snags and snarls on selfreferential sentences selfreferential sentences. Selfreference occurs in natural or formal languages when a sentence, idea or formula refers to itself. This sentence is meaningless because it is selfreferential. Hofstadter talks about selfreferential sentences in geb and mt metamag. Hofstadter, who nows holds the appropriately broad walgreen chair in human understanding at the u. On self referential sentences self referential sentences. In this stanza, hofstadter not only translates the form and content, but also wonderfully conveys pushkins own jocular, familiar first and secondperson banter both poet and reader are characters here, and the metaliterary and selfreferential aspects of his work which were downright hofstadterian to begin with. It turns out that an eerie type of chaos can lurk just behind a facade of order and yet, deep inside the chaos lurks an even eerier type of order. Selfreference, autograms and autological words puzzlewocky.
This is the title of this story, which is also found several times in the story itself, by david moser. This sentence i am now writing is the sentence you are now reading. The concept of a strange loop was proposed and extensively discussed by douglas hofstadter in godel, escher, bach, and is further elaborated in hofstadters book i am a strange loop, published in 2007. Viruslike sentences and selfreplicating structures. I seem to recall some of these posted coming from douglas hofstadter or at least reprinted by him, but here are some more. He discusses many things selfreferential, as well as a dazzling array of mathematical. This sentence claims to be an epimenides paradox, but it is lying. Thit sentence is not self referential because thit is not a word. Eschers dragon for example, and music bachs fugues to convey the concept and its recursive nature. No language can express every thought unambiguously, least of all this one. How is godels incomplete theorem related to consciousness. Public domain, distribute freely with or without attribution. Mar 26, 2018 if i were to write a sentence that was self referential, i would start by using the first person perspective like i have in this sentence. A selfmodifying game based on reflexivity in law section ii.
Nov 17, 2016 you can learn about selfreferential sentences and godels incompleteness theorems and much besides from douglas hofstadter and raymond smullyans classic books. Definition of selfreferential adjective in oxford advanced american dictionary. Selfreferential meaning in the cambridge english dictionary. Self reference is often used in a broader context as well. An example of a selfreferential situation is the one of autopoiesis, as the logical organization produces itself the physical structure which creates itself in metaphysics, selfreference is subjectivity, while heteroreference, as it is called see niklas luhmann, is objectivity. Indeed, the book goes further than did the original columns, selfreferential enough though they may be, by adding to each chapter a passage summarizing readers comments, mr. For instance, a picture could be considered selfreferential if it contains a copy of itself see the animated image above. A more recent novelistic treatment, focusing on the lives and deaths of kurt godel and alan turing, is janna levin s book. In godels second incompleteness theorem, its not an individual sentence thats referring to itself. And asimovll sign anything, hardbacks, softbacks, other peoples books, scraps of paper. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more. Examples of how to use referential in a sentence from the cambridge dictionary labs. The other option is to say you may not make selfreferential sentences, but this means your formal system is incomplete since not every logical construct possible can be stated with your system. Recursion and selfreference is explored in detail in the pulitzer prizewinning book godel, escher, bach.
The definition of selfreferential is to say or write something about yourself. Selfreferential humor, also known as selfreflexive humor or meta humor, is a type of comedic expression thateither directed toward some other subject, or openly directed toward itselfintentionally alludes to the very person who is expressing the humor in a comedic fashion, or to some specific aspect of that same comedic expression. An object a2 domr is called directly selfreferential if there is a loop at ain the graph of the reference relation. A selfreferential column about last januarys column about selfreference. Thit sentence is not selfreferential because thit is not a word. Selfreference is often used in a broader context as well. The other option is to say you may not make self referential sentences, but this means your formal system is incomplete since not every logical construct possible can be stated with your system. Aug 15, 2001 metamagical themas covers the following topics, among others.
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