Editing Metamagical Themas (section)

==Contents==
Major themes of the columns include self-reference in [[meme]]s, language, art and logic; discussions of philosophical issues important in cognitive science/AI; analogies and what makes something similar to something else (specifically what makes, for example, an uppercase letter 'A' recognizable as such); and lengthy discussions of the work of [[Robert Axelrod (political scientist)|Robert Axelrod]] on the [[prisoner's dilemma]], as well as the idea of [[superrationality]].

The concept of superrationality, and its relevance to the [[Cold War]], environmental issues and such, is accompanied by notes on experiments conducted by the author at the time. Another notable feature is the inclusion of two dialogues in the style of those appearing in ''[[Gödel, Escher, Bach]]''. [[Ambigram]]s are mentioned.

There are three articles centered on the [[Lisp programming language]], in which Hofstadter first details the language itself, and then shows how it relates to [[Gödel's incompleteness theorem]]. Two articles are devoted to [[Rubik's Cube]] and similar puzzles. Many chapters open with an illustration of an extremely abstract alphabet, yet one which is still [[Gestalt psychology|gestaltly]] recognizable as such.

The game of [[Nomic]] was first introduced to the public in this column, in June 1982, when excerpts from a book (still unpublished at the time) by the game's creator [[Peter Suber]] were printed and discussed.

The index of the book mentions Hofstadter's recurring alter ego, [[Egbert B. Gebstadter]].