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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
| − | {{w|Douglas Hofstadter}} is an American author who has written several books about philosophy, mathematics, and science. He is perhaps most famous for his book ''{{w|Gödel, Escher, Bach}}'' which explores "strange loops," or {{w|self-reference|self-referential systems}}. "Meta-" is a Greek prefix meaning "outside" or "beyond." As an adjective, "meta" informally refers to anything self-referential, like the last | + | {{w|Douglas Hofstadter}} is an American author who has written several books about philosophy, mathematics, and science. He is perhaps most famous for his book ''{{w|Gödel, Escher, Bach}}'' which explores "strange loops," or {{w|self-reference|self-referential systems}}. "Meta-" is a Greek prefix meaning "outside" or "beyond." As an adjective, "meta" informally refers to anything self-referential, like the last clause of this sentence. An example of the use of such a term can be found in [[1313: Regex Golf]]. |
At first reading, the six word autobiography in the second panel, "I'm So Meta, Even This ''Acronym''", may seem unfinished, however the clue is in the final word. An acronym is an abbreviation formed by the initial letters of a series of words, and reading the first letter of each of the six words in order yields "ISMETA", completing the sentence and setting up the self-reference where it reads "I'm so meta, even this acronym IS META". Hofstadter himself did something similar in ''Gödel, Escher, Bach'' in the chapter "Contracrostipunctus", where the first letter of each line spells out the phrase "'''H'''ofstadter's '''C'''ontracrostipunctus '''A'''crostically '''B'''ackwards '''S'''pells '''J'''.S.Bach" - and taking the first letters of each word in ''that'' sentence backwards does indeed spell "'''J.S. BACH'''". | At first reading, the six word autobiography in the second panel, "I'm So Meta, Even This ''Acronym''", may seem unfinished, however the clue is in the final word. An acronym is an abbreviation formed by the initial letters of a series of words, and reading the first letter of each of the six words in order yields "ISMETA", completing the sentence and setting up the self-reference where it reads "I'm so meta, even this acronym IS META". Hofstadter himself did something similar in ''Gödel, Escher, Bach'' in the chapter "Contracrostipunctus", where the first letter of each line spells out the phrase "'''H'''ofstadter's '''C'''ontracrostipunctus '''A'''crostically '''B'''ackwards '''S'''pells '''J'''.S.Bach" - and taking the first letters of each word in ''that'' sentence backwards does indeed spell "'''J.S. BACH'''". | ||
