Quotes by Douglas Hofstadter

Douglas Hofstadter

. . . all meaning comes from analogies.

Analogies

Below Every Tangled Hierarchy Lies An Inviolate Level

Levels

Lying

Tangled

Enormous numbers of people are taken in, or at least beguiled and fascinated, by what seems to me to be unbelievable hocum, and relatively few are concerned with or thrilled by the astounding-yet true-facts of science, as put forth in the pages of, say, Scientific American.

Science

Taken

Truth

For 13 to be unlucky would require there to be some kind of cosmic intelligence that counts things that humans count and that also makes certain things happen on certain dates or in certain places according to whether the number 13 ‘is involved’ or not (whatever ‘is involved’ might mean).

Mean

Might

Numbers

Hofstadter’s Law: It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter’s Law

Favourite

Law

Research

How gullible are you? Is your gullibility located in some “gullibility center” in your brain? Could a neurosurgeon reach in and perform some delicate operation to lower your gullibility, otherwise leaving you alone? If you believe this, you are pretty gullible, and should perhaps consider such an operation.

Believe

Brain

Leaving

I am the thought you are now thinking.

Science

Thinking

I don’t feel I have the right to snuff the lives of chicken and fish.

Chickens

Fishes

Snuff

I would like to understand things better, but I don’t want to understand them perfectly.

Want

I would proclaim that the vast majority of what [say, Scientific American] is true-yet my ability to defend such a claim is weaker than I would like. And most likely the readers, authors, and editors of that magazine would be equally hard pressed to come up with cogent, non-technical arguments convincing a skeptic of this point, especially if pitted against a clever lawyer arguing the contrary. How come Truth is such a slippery beast?

Clever

Science

Truth

Follow The Behaviour University in order to get the greatest quotes from the greatest people of all time so that you can tap into your own greatness.

Acceptance

Action

America

Analogies

Attitude

Believe

Black And White

Brain

Chickens

Clever

Common Sense

Communication

Computer

Craziness

Criteria

Decision

Direct

Dog

Done

Dream

Eerie

Effects

Effort

Enemy

Enlightenment

Essence

Evil

Example

Facts

Favourite

Fighting

Fishes

Focus

Following

Giving

Home

Ideas

Ignorance

Importance

Important

Inspirational

Journey

Keys

Kind

Language

Law

Leaving

Levels

Lists

Long

The Future Blueprint

Tool

The Home Therapist: Anti Anxiety

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The Autobiography

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The Behaviour Diary

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The Dating Diary

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The Relationship Therapist

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Quotes by Douglas Hofstadter

Douglas Hofstadter

. . . all meaning comes from analogies.

Below Every Tangled Hierarchy Lies An Inviolate Level

Enormous numbers of people are taken in, or at least beguiled and fascinated, by what seems to me to be unbelievable hocum, and relatively few are concerned with or thrilled by the astounding-yet true-facts of science, as put forth in the pages of, say, Scientific American.

For 13 to be unlucky would require there to be some kind of cosmic intelligence that counts things that humans count and that also makes certain things happen on certain dates or in certain places according to whether the number 13 ‘is involved’ or not (whatever ‘is involved’ might mean).

Hofstadter’s Law: It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter’s Law

I am the thought you are now thinking.

I don’t feel I have the right to snuff the lives of chicken and fish.

I would like to understand things better, but I don’t want to understand them perfectly.

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Topics by Douglas Hofstadter

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The Future Blueprint

The Home Therapist: Anti Anxiety

The Autobiography

The Behaviour Diary

The Dating Diary

The Relationship Therapist

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