Photo: Maurizio Codogno, it:Utente:.mau. / CC BY 2.5 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
Douglas Hofstadter is a philosopher, writer and university teacher, born on February 15, 1945 in New York City, New York, United States. That puts Douglas Hofstadter at 81 years old in 2026. Schooling on record includes Palo Alto High School and Stanford University. Listed accolades include Guggenheim Fellowship, Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction (1980), National Book Award (1980) and 5 more. Notable works include Gödel, Escher, Bach and I Am a Strange Loop.
My Take
Hofstadter sits in a category of his own for me. Gödel, Escher, Bach is not a book so much as a hall of mirrors braiding mathematics, art, and music into a single argument about the mind, and it earned both the Pulitzer and the National Book Award for good reason. I Am a Strange Loop then turned that machinery on the self. A Stanford-trained physicist who drifted into cognitive science, he writes hard ideas with a playfulness that makes you want to keep going. I usually abandon difficult books; his are the ones I reopen.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Douglas Hofstadter
- Name (Japanese)
- ダグラス・ホフスタッター
- Reading
- だぐらす・ほふすたったー
- Born
- February 15, 1945 (age 81)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Aquarius / Rooster
- Origin
- New York City, New York, United States
- Occupation
- philosopher / writer / university teacher / computer scientist / physicist
2. Background
- High school
- Palo Alto High School
- University
- Stanford University
Awards & achievements
- Guggenheim Fellowship
- 1980 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction
- 1980 National Book Award
- Fellow of the Cognitive Science Society
- Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry
- Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- 2011 Barwise Prize
- 2018 Albertus-Magnus professorate
3. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | Gödel, Escher, Bach | — | |
| Notable work | I Am a Strange Loop | — |
4. Links
5. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-20
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.
Frequently asked questions
When was Douglas Hofstadter born?
Born February 15, 1945 (age 81).
Where is Douglas Hofstadter from?
Douglas Hofstadter is from New York City, New York, United States.
What does Douglas Hofstadter do?
Douglas Hofstadter works as philosopher, writer, university teacher, computer scientist, physicist.
What is Douglas Hofstadter known for?
Notable works include Gödel, Escher, Bach, I Am a Strange Loop.
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