Dilettante - from the Italian "to delight". I think that's fair. Hofstadter doesn't make any claims to being an expert in any of the areas he discusses (at lea

Dilettante - from the Italian "to delight". I think that's fair. Hofstadter doesn't make any claims to being an expert in any of the areas he discusses (at least not in 1979). I think of GEB as an extremely idiosyncratic but well written piece of popular science. He provides plenty of further reading for those who want to delve into the various topics he touches upon.