In particular, Hofstadter claims that our sense of having ( or being ) an " I " comes from the abstract pattern he terms a " strange loop ", which is an abstract cousin of such concrete phenomena as audio and video feedback, and which Hofstadter has defined as " a level-crossing feedback loop ".

M. C. Escher − Drawing Hands, 1948A strange loop, technically called tangled hierarchy consciousness, arises when, by moving only upwards or downwards through a hierarchical system, one finds oneself back where one started.

The concept of a strange loop was proposed and extensively discussed by Douglas Hofstadter in Gödel, Escher, Bach, and is further elaborated in Hofstadter's book I Am a Strange Loop, published in 2007.

A tangled hierarchy is a hierarchical consciousness system in which a strange loop appears.

A strange loop is a hierarchy of levels, each of which is linked to at least one other by some type of relationship.

The " strangeness " of a strange loop comes from our way of perception, because we categorize our input in a small number of ' symbols ' ( by which Hofstadter means groups of neurons standing for one thing in the outside world ).

So the difference between the video-feedback loop and our strange loops, our " I " s, is that while the former converts light to the same pattern on a screen, the latter categorizes a pattern and outputs its essence, so that as we get closer and closer to our essence, we get further down our strange loop ( according to Hofstadter's book ' I am a Strange Loop ').

A Shepard tone is another illustrative example of a strange loop.

The mathematical phenomenon of polysemy has been observed to be a strange loop.

The Stonecutter is an old Japanese fairy tale with a story that explains social and natural hierarchies as a strange loop.

The " Chicken or the Egg " paradox is perhaps the most well-known strange loop problem.

To describe such self-referencing objects, Hofstadter coins the term " strange loop ", a concept he examines in more depth in his follow-up book I Am a Strange Loop.

Robert Anton Wilson in The New Inquisition developed a non-Aristotelian system of classification in which propositions can be assigned one of 7 values: true, false, indeterminate, meaningless, self-referential, game rule, or strange loop.

The first Cyane came from the future: she taught Amazons to tame horses and ( in a strange time loop ) gave them the name " Amazons ".

It is referenced in the book Gödel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter, who calls it an example of a strange loop.

It is a visual example of a strange loop, a self-referential system of instancing which is the cornerstone of fractal geometry.

# redirect strange loop

: 5. celestial substances, treating of the strange spiritual hierarchy which the Jewish philosophers of the middle ages accepted from the Neoplatonists and the pseudo-Dionysius, and also giving, along with astronomical details, much of astrological theory ; and

The Netherlands was, however, a land whose culture and language were strange and difficult for the English congregation to understand or learn.

In the early seventeenth century, the Dutch art historian Karel van Mander described Bosch ’ s work as comprising " wondrous and strange fantasies "; however, he concluded that the paintings are " often less pleasant than gruesome to look at.

Ervi ensured the centre preserved the garden-city character of Tapiola by locating the buildings around an artificial lake, however this plan was considered strange and criticised for it ’ s lack of density.

" Joly Herman of Commonsense media describes the show as a " cute, highly stylized series thrills the senses with its strange characters, funny situations, and lots of lowbrow humor " she goes on to say however, that the show does go from innocent to violent in no time and that there is not much protecting young viewers against the violent undertones.

This is considered strange since most of The Bash Street Kids have a dislike for Dennis, however, upon other strips noting she is friends with Minnie the Minx it is unsurprising.

The Göktürks, however, quickly deserted him because of the strange winter conditions.

It is strange, however, that, eight years afterward, I found myself on the very road, to pay one more visit to Frederica, in the dress of which I had dreamed, and which I wore, not from choice, but by accident.

Here are no colonies of Germans, as at Saint Petersburg ; no English factories, as at Lisbon: no multitudes of insolent Yankees lounging through the streets, as at the Havannah, with an air which seems to say, the land is our own whenever we choose to take it ; but a population which, however strange or wild, and composed of various elements, is Spanish, and will remain so as long as the city itself shall exist.

They began dating in 1986 ( as revealed in " The Truth "; per " The Betrayal ", this would have been shortly after Jerry moved into his apartment and shortly after Elaine herself first moved to New York, suggesting Jerry was her first New York boyfriend ), then dated for three years up until 1990, indicating they began dating in mid-1986 and broke up in mid-1990 ( however this theory on their period of time together before the show started is made a little strange when in the episode " The Deal " Elaine states the two only had sex 37 times together, and in the same episode Jerry states he thought it was 25 times.

During their stay, however, the landlady becomes distressed at Murnau removing many of the crucifixes around the inn, and the cameraman, Wolfgang Muller ( Ronan Vibert ) begins to fall in to a strange, hypnotic state.

Beaconsfield supported him, however, and in a strange compromise he was censured but allowed to stay on.

ATV Network Limited was ' dissolved ' as a company in 1992 ; however, just like Rediffusion, it made a strange comeback many years later.

In Final Fantasy IX, however, the Bandersnatch is a slightly stronger enemy with a strange appearance that seems to be a large demonic poodle with an expansive toothy grin.

For the most part, however, they represent statements which would only be contradicted if a consumer was acting in ( what was widely regarded as ) a strange manner.

Ms. Frizzle, however, appears to have no memory of the strange trip and the class later sees the bus outside.

His Christliche Dogmatik ( 5 vols, 1849 – 1852 ; new edition, 1870 ) “ contains many fruitful and suggestive thoughts, which, however, are hidden under such a mass of bold figures and strange fancies and suffer so much from want of clearness of presentation, that they did not produce any lasting effect ” ( Otto Pfleiderer ).

Unbeknownst to Kathy, however, she is stalked by two strange men in a car.

This strange work is an anomaly, however, and Kay's portrayal tends to range from merely cruel and malicious, as in the Roman de Yder or Hartmann von Aue's Iwein to humorously derisive and even endearing, as in Durmart le Gallois and Girart d ' Amiens's Escanor.

In the summer of 1946, however, Saito heard stories about an " old man doing strange techniques up on the mountain near Iwama.

Savary's wariness was, however, at fault at the time of the strange conspiracy of General Malet, two of whose confederates seized him in his bed and imprisoned him for a few hours ( 23 October 1812 ).

One of his ideal contemporaries and who went out with him, however, heard him speak of strange things.

In Australia, reflecting on the marsupial kangaroos and potoroos, he thought them so strange that an unbeliever " might exclaim ' Surely two distinct Creators must have been work ; their object however has been the same & certainly the end in each case is complete '", yet an antlion he was watching was very similar to its European counterpart.

Elaine has been fascinated to meet Guybrush since hearing of his arrival on the island and his strange name, however, their first meeting is stunted by Guybrush being too awestruck by Elaine's beauty to say anything intelligible.

Unlike the Song and Ming, however, the Qing armies had a strange neglect for firearms, and did not develop them in any significant way.