Thanks for the expansive answer. I think I understand the feeling of dread you were talking about now. I get it when trying to comprehend the universe even tho

Thanks for the expansive answer. I think I understand the feeling of dread you were talking about now. I get it when trying to comprehend the universe even though I'm aware of the scientific theories about it I can't help but let my mind wander about how big it is or what it really means for it to be infinite and if it weren't infinite what would it be in and what would be beyond it, etc. etc. Those little meanderings haven't really changed since I was 8 or so and I'm now 35 and I can just touch what it would be like to be insane when going long and deep enough. A healthy dose of psilocybin mushrooms is what Bill Hicks recommended. (and so do I!) Also, while I have read GEB since it's sort of required reading, I'm not really a fan of it. This is probably heresy here on HN but like all other of Hofstadter's books I can't stand his huff-puffery about himself and really it distracts from the interesting content in his books. I'm sure he's a nice guy and brilliant mind and it's most certainly a character flaw of mine but his writing style just doesn't click with me. I've tried multiple times to put it past me but have been unsuccessful so far.