and my brain won't go back to sleep. stephanie decided to start a book club, so here i am reading "i am a strange loop" on the subway, and getting overanalytical about everything. he (hofstadter) seems like a kindred spirit, a vegetarian and pragmatist. he has a gift for putting his thoughts down in such a way that i keep thinking, but that's what i think! i should have written this book! when clearly that is not the case. he makes it seem easy, which is a good way to get philosophy into the people. it seems so easy that barely into the third chapter i begin to question his assumptions. am i being snowed by his easy confidence? the use of silly jargon makes me think of specious self-help books, with his "soul shards" and "simmbolism." will this turn out to be some corny "chicken soup for the atheist?" this book club was a good idea. i am waiting for people who understand and care about these arguments more than i to trounce me in debate so i don't just write the whole thing off. but first i shall finish it.
thinking critically with a goal in mind is energizing.