Dr. Hofstadter:

Things seem to be advancing fairly quickly. Unfortunately
(fortunately???), the ARTRAB effect (A Rising Tide Raises All Boats)
seems to be keeping most people from noticing it. Even me. But I don't
want to debate it. Hope you are doing well. When will we see a sequel
to Godel, Escher, Bach (GEB)?
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From: Douglas Hofstadter

To: "Don Stockbauer" Date: Fri, 28 Oct
2005 10:33:47 -0500

I don't know what "a sequel to GEB" means. I think of any book that I
have written since GEB as "a sequel to GEB". However, I have a book
coming out next spring called "I Am a Strange Loop" that some people
might consider more of a successor to GEB than, say, my
translation of "Eugene Onegin" was.

-- DH.
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Dear Dr. Hofstadter, 10/28/2005

Yes, you are right; I apologize. I was being facetious about a "sequel
to GEB", for I too consider all your books to be sequels. I have just
about all of them and they have a lot of annotations in them. I will
look eagerly for your new book in the spring. I continue to believe in
the "strong" version of the Global Brain theory (the Earth
literally becoming a living organism), even though I know one neuron
can know little of the mind it helps form. I think I catch fleeting
glimpses of it, especially when watching CNN. I wish you well.
Interesting times
to be living in.

Don Stockbauer

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Dear Dr. Hofstadter,

I humbly suggest a sequel or two to your upcoming book "I am a
strange loop":

1. "The Earth is an even stranger loop."

2. "The Galaxy is an even stranger yet loop."

3. "The Local Universe (within the causal
horizon) is pretty weird too"

4. "The Global Universe beyond the causal
horizon is probably a strange loop, but we wont know until NASA gets a
spacecraft there."

Oh, wait?? "I" in "I am a strange loop" is an
indefinite reference, so your present title could be used for all the
sequels for efficiency. My mother sums all this up. "Life is funny.
Life is funny." Oh, wellsky.

Don Stockbauer
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Don:

Good suggestions for sequels to "I Am a Strange Loop"; however, since
they're your idea, I think you
should write them, not me. Or maybe the Earth itself could write the
first one, the Galaxy the second one, and so forth... -- DH.
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Dear Dr. Hofstadter,

You have great insight. Yes, the Earth itself will have to
write the first one, the Galaxy the second. But you know, it would be
pretty amazing if the sequence went any higher. Communication between
galaxies is probably not in the cards. Also, the book's subject matter
would probably be more along the line of "How do I, Planet Earth, wean
my agents from fossil fuel" or "What do we do about these pesky gamma
ray bursters, terrorist threat to our very galactic being?" All very
interesting material to ponder. I appreciate your publishing your memes
through the years, adding to the blocks world people are using to
construct the future.

Don Stockbauer
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Toodle-Lewd-Wench-Sky