Title analogy as the core of cognition mit media lab. Hofstadter and sanders book is a wonderful and insightful account of the. Hofstadter is college of arts and sciences professor of cognitive science, and director of the center for research on concepts and cognition, at indiana university. If analogy were merely a special variety of something that in itself lies way out on the peripheries, then it would be but an ittybitty blip in the broad blue sky of cognition. The columns were all reprinted, along with much extra material, in the 1985 book metamagical themas. An eternal golden braid, which would earn for hofstadteronly 35.
Social darwinism in american thought richard hofstadter. Twenty years after it topped the bestseller charts, douglas r. Fluid concepts and creative analogies book depository. Books by hofstadter center for research on concepts and cognition. Hofstadter collects and studies cognitive errors largely, but not solely, speech errorsbon mots spontaneous humorous quipsand analogies of all sorts, and his longtime observation of these diverse products of cognition, and his theories about the mechanisms that underlie them, have exerted a powerful influence on the architectures of the. Compulsively readable and endlessly thoughtprovoking, this is a moving and profound inquiry into the nature of mind. Hofstadter has a lifelong love for languages, and has written a tome about translation, analogies, constraints, and creativity le ton. Hofstadter is noted for his development with the fluid analogies research group, affectionately called farg of computational models of cognition, and in these models, analogy plays the starring role.
These are the mysteries tackled in i am a strange loop, douglas r. Analogy as the core of cognition stanford university. What we have described is, in short, the following central cognitive loop. The visual perceptual process, in other words, can be thought of as the triggering. Douglas richard hofstadter born february 15, 1945 is an american scholar of cognitive. If analogy were merely a special variety of something that in itself lies. Hofstadter wrote forewords for or edited the following books. Steven pinker, harvard college professor of psychology, harvard university, and author of how the mind works and the stuff of thought i am one of those cog.
Hofstadter connects the concept of analogy to our neurological processes as well as describing the implications of the method of thought. If life can grow out of the formal chemical substrate of the. Winner of the pulitzer prizea metaphorical fugue on minds and machines in the spirit of lewis carrolldouglas hofstadters book is concerned directly with the nature of maps or links between formal systems. A largescale memory chunk can be thought of as being stored in longterm memory as a node. This book was a great, easy to read, book about analogical cognition written by two cognitive scientists. This posting will discuss the views of douglas hofstadter who is professor of computer science and cognitive science at indiana university. It contends that the notions of analogy and fluidity are fundamental to explain how the human mind solves problems and to create computer. Compulsively readable and endlessly thoughtprovoking, this is the book hofstadters many readers have long been waiting for. In this presidential lecture, cognitive scientist douglas hofstadter examines the role and contributions of analogy in cognition, using a variety of analogies to illustrate his points. Douglas richard hofstadter born february 15, 1945 is an american professor of cognitive science whose research focuses on the sense of i, 2 3 consciousness, analogymaking, artistic creation, literary translation, and discovery in mathematics and physics. Douglas richard hofstadter is an american scholar of cognitive science, physics, and comparative literature whose research focuses on consciousness, thinking and creativity. What do neuroscientists think about douglas hofstadters.
New york, ny, 2007 isbn 0465030785 pb order this book. Placing analogy at the core of cognition hofstadter and sander. Models of the fundamental mechanisms of thought ny. Currently his most active goal is to reveal how analogymaking lies at the base of all human thought see analogy as the core of cognition and hopefully, in a couple of years, toward the roots of thought. Fantasies and reflections on self and soul by daniel c. Immensely enjoyable, with a plethora of fascinating examples and anecdotes, this book will make you understand your own thought processes in a wholly new way. Hofstadter, a noted author, cognitive scientist and proud stanford son, returns to stanford in february, 2006, with a lecture called analogy as the core of cognition.
The man who would teach machines to think the atlantic. Noted cognitive scientist asserts that analogy is almost. Hofstadters 2007 book i am a strange loop carries his vision of. In surfaces and essences, hofstadter and sander show how analogymaking pervades our thought at all levelsindeed, that we make analogies not once a day or once an hour, but many times per second. Hofstadter thought his friend would be cold, but his friend explained that the northern part is actually warm because of gulfstream. Hofstadters first booklength journey into philosophy since godel, escher, bach. Douglas hofstadter analogy as the core of cognition. Compulsively listenable and endlessly thoughtprovoking, this is a moving and profound inquiry into the nature of mind. Analogy is the motor of the car of thought and the interstate freeway of cognition, said hofstadter in a talk titled analogy as the core of cognition. What is the general feeling about douglas hofstadters. Taken from the back cover of the book by the way, its analogy as the fuel of cognition. Douglas hofstadter is college of arts and sciences distinguished professor of cognitive science and comparative literature, where he also directs the fluid analogies. Hofstadter, a noted author, cognitive scientist and proud stanford son. Social darwinism in american thought portrays the overall influence of darwin on american social theory and the notable battle waged among thinkers over the implications of evolutionary theory for social thought and political action.
Hofstadter, 9780465026562, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Computer models of the fundamental mechanisms of thought. Seven years later, they had not so much germinated as metastasized into a 2. Now, with his trademark wit and special talent for making complex ideas vivid, he has partnered with sander to put forth a highly novel perspective on cognition. Nearly thirty years after his bestselling book godel, escher, bach, cognitive. In his book the poetics of translation barnstone 1993, poet and translator willis. Hofstadter approaches the mind from the perspective of the computer sciences, in that there are both hardware and software aspects of human intelligence. Hofstadter has been grappling with the mysteries of human thought for over. Douglas hofstadter analogy as the core of cognition april 12, 2015 march 19, 2018 emergent cognition project i cant define anything and i kind of hate definitions but i will at least sort of give you a sense. Hofstadter was reading a book on the discovery of america while he was flying to denver. Hofstadter and sanders book is a wonderful and insightful account of the role of analogy in cognition. Computer models of the fundamental mechanisms of thought, written by douglas hofstadter and members of the fluid analogies research group.
Analogycore of cognition by hofstadter c o r t e x t. Review of hofstadter, douglas r i am a strange loop. What do neuroscientists think about douglas hofstadters lecturetheory on analogy as the core of cognition. Theorists such as herbert spencer and william graham sumner adopted the idea of the struggle for existence as justification for the evils as well as the benefits. While brown describes his book as an extended conversation with the formal writings of richard hofstadter, he also did an admirable amount of research in other literary and archival sources. Doug hofstadters latest book, i am a strange loop, is partly a reworking of and partly a sequel to his celebrated godel, escher and bach published back in 1979.
Hofstadter is college of arts and sciences professor of cognitive science and computer science at indiana university, bloomington, where he likewise coordinates the center for research on concepts and cognition. This book,not really a book,is a compilation of articles written by various authors who are on the leading edge of thought on a. We are constantly faced with a swirling and intermingling multitude of illdefined situations. I read godel escher bach as a teenager, i dont think this work is his best, because while it is fine as literature, the main theorem is mystified rather than explained, and the main thesis is murky and isnt so deep when unraveled. While cognitive science doesnt provide an adequate model of what analogical cognition is and how it might be trained manipulated, it does. An eternal golden braid is still something of a marvel. Douglas hofstadter is college of arts and sciences professor of cognitive science at indiana university, where he directs the center for research on concepts and cognition. Most current neuroscience seems focused on understanding what the primary b. Douglas hofstadter project gutenberg selfpublishing. A professor of of cognitive science and comparative literature, his research centers around consciousness and highlevel perception as director of the center for research on concepts and cognition at. Computer models of the fundamental mechanisms of thought kindle edition by hofstadter, douglas r download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.
Computer models of the fundamental mechanisms of thought is a 1995 book by douglas hofstadter and other members of the fluid analogies research group exploring the mechanisms of intelligence through computer modeling. Surfaces and essences by douglas hofstadter basic books. Douglas hofstadters book is concerned directly with the nature of maps or links. I dont think most neuroscientists think about it at all. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading fluid concepts and creative analogies. However, according to hofstadter, the formal system that underlies all mental activity transcends the system that supports it. Immensely enjoyable, with a plethora of fascinating.
Surfaces and essences douglas r hofstadter, emmanuel. Douglas hofstadter, the author of godel, escher, bach will be delivering the math colloquium on feuerbachs theorem. Perspectives from cognitive science, cambridge, ma. As a linguistics student fascinated by cognition, i love the book for all the. What do neuroscientists think about douglas hofstadter s lecturetheory on analogy as the core of cognition. Although he is the author of eight major books, hofstadter is best known for his. The book is an anthology of material excerpted from elsewhere each essay followed by reflections by dennet andor hofstadter. Hofstadter has been grappling with the mysteries of human thought for over thirty years.
Hofstadter has been grappling with the mysteries of human thought for over thirty. In the end, we selfperceiving, selfinventing, lockedin mirages are little miracles of selfreference. A study in cognition and recognition daniel defays highlevel perception, representation, and analogy. Hofstadter also wrote over 50 papers that were published through the center for research on concepts and cognition, see. The why, the when, the where, and the who of this book to seek whence cometh a sequence douglas hofstadter the architecture of jumbo douglas hofstadter numbo. There is plenty of variety, so i guarantee you will find some essays utterly delightful and entertaining wether or not you fancy yourself as one who would normally pursue philsophy of mind or epistemology. Hofstadter has been grappling with the mysteries of human thought for. Research carried out at crcc has been described in detail in the book fluid concepts and creative analogies. 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. A critique of artificialintelligence methodology david chalmers, robert french, and douglas hofstadter the.
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