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I've heard this said many times. Most people I know who have loved the book read it before turning 20. It's a great read, but I think there's something in the f

I've heard this said many times. Most people I know who have loved the book read it before turning 20. It's a great read, but I think there's something in the format that means it's best for bright but fertile minds.

T-hawk 6y ago
And a similar data point: I read GEB around age 30 and liked it but didn't love it. About the first third of the book was interesting in new ways of thinking about symbols and self-reference. After that it kept looping back around the same topics without really adding anything more. The dialogues were somewhat entertaining but I found myself wishing to cut past the rhetorical fluff and get to the point.
mindcrime 6y ago
I read it for the first time about 2 years ago, when I was about 45. I don't know if it would be correct to say that I "loved" it, but I did rather enjoy reading it, and I found a lot of the ideas espoused within really resonated with me. All in all, I would say that I walked away thinking that it will get a second read at some point. Not sure that this anecdote proves anything, so take it for what it's worth.
cgh 6y ago
Yeah, I agree with you. I first read it when I was around fifteen years old and didn't quite grasp it all at first but it sure fired me up. I read it a couple of times after that, the last time when I was around 21 or so. I'm kind of afraid to read it now because I'm afraid I'll process it with my older, cynical, more "knowing" brain and it will tarnish my wonderful memories of being glued to it as a teenager. It's a unique work that seems magnetically attractive to a certain sort of young, imaginative mind.
jkhdigital 6y ago
I read it three months ago, at age 37, shortly after completing a course on computation theory (currently working on a PhD in CS). It was one of those books that somehow stole entire days from me, simply because I couldn’t put it down... along the way I also spent a lot of time browsing Wikipedia and Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entries for a more rigorous understanding of Godel’s contributions. I’d agree that it feels like it was intended for a more youthful audience, but I doubt I would have made all of the mental connections that I did without the life experience and broader knowledge of my 30s.
fortran77 6y ago
I read it when it first came out, in 1979, when I was a college freshman. I loved it. And it was great to see a book about Computer Science win the Pulitzer Prize. I've re-read it twice, once around the year 2000 an once this past year. It holds up well. This book really was a "major event" as the Pulitzer committee described it.

T-hawk 6y ago

And a similar data point: I read GEB around age 30 and liked it but didn't love it. About the first third of the book was interesting in new ways of thinking about symbols and self-reference. After that it kept looping back around the same topics without really adding anything more. The dialogues were somewhat entertaining but I found myself wishing to cut past the rhetorical fluff and get to the point.

mindcrime 6y ago

I read it for the first time about 2 years ago, when I was about 45. I don't know if it would be correct to say that I "loved" it, but I did rather enjoy reading it, and I found a lot of the ideas espoused within really resonated with me. All in all, I would say that I walked away thinking that it will get a second read at some point. Not sure that this anecdote proves anything, so take it for what it's worth.

cgh 6y ago

Yeah, I agree with you. I first read it when I was around fifteen years old and didn't quite grasp it all at first but it sure fired me up. I read it a couple of times after that, the last time when I was around 21 or so. I'm kind of afraid to read it now because I'm afraid I'll process it with my older, cynical, more "knowing" brain and it will tarnish my wonderful memories of being glued to it as a teenager. It's a unique work that seems magnetically attractive to a certain sort of young, imaginative mind.

jkhdigital 6y ago

I read it three months ago, at age 37, shortly after completing a course on computation theory (currently working on a PhD in CS). It was one of those books that somehow stole entire days from me, simply because I couldn’t put it down... along the way I also spent a lot of time browsing Wikipedia and Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entries for a more rigorous understanding of Godel’s contributions. I’d agree that it feels like it was intended for a more youthful audience, but I doubt I would have made all of the mental connections that I did without the life experience and broader knowledge of my 30s.

fortran77 6y ago

I read it when it first came out, in 1979, when I was a college freshman. I loved it. And it was great to see a book about Computer Science win the Pulitzer Prize. I've re-read it twice, once around the year 2000 an once this past year. It holds up well. This book really was a "major event" as the Pulitzer committee described it.