Manic Id Ramble?

This is a bit weird. About twenty minutes ago, I finished a cigarette, got into "bed", and began reading a book which I am approximately halfway through and which is rapidly becoming one of my favourite books. The bit I was reading quickly became rather abstract and simultaneously extremely silly (typical of this author), and because the book is written in a somewhat conversational tone, the author suggested a break and inserted a(n)* (seemingly -- I haven't read past it yet) unrelated poem. I don't generally smoke a cigarette every twenty minutes, but at the suggestion of taking a break, an activity I often accompany with smoking, I felt a compelling psychosomatic urge to smoke, and I did.

Now the book I have probably read, at least in a cover-to-cover fashion, more than any other, and which informs the way I think about many things, is also by this author, and I know it so intimately that I feel, when reading this person's prose, that I am engaged in conversation with this person. Even further, this author seems to think about many things in a way that is very close to my own tendencies, and I therefore feel a slight kinship. My question is, did the author effectively tell me to smoke, in a similar manner to the way people take all sorts of cues from cultural icons? For those who've read or heard of Julian Jaynes**, was this some sort of vestige of my bicameral mind at work, using something I read, instead of an auditory hallucination, as its medium?

*Question for Noodles' ilk: do I say "a" or "an" here? It must be "a" in speech because of the parenthetical "seemingly", but in speech we often conflate the two articles based on the sounds of vowels -- mathematicians say "there exists a unique..." so often that it begins to grate on my soul.

**Interesting, but not the author I'm currently reading, although that author has written about vaguely similar subjects and the two have theories of the mind which probably oppose each other where they intersect.

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I think the question was, should the asterisk symbol be preceded by "a" or "an".

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It was only a seemingly unrelated poem, as it turns out. The author is Douglas Hofstadter; the book is "Le Ton Beau de Marot".

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It's 😠

Originally posted by ChronicLeaky
This is a bit weird. About twenty minutes ago, I finished a cigarette, got into "bed", and began reading a book which I am approximately halfway through and which is rapidly becoming one of my favourite books. The bit I was reading quickly became rather abstract and simultaneously extremely silly (typical of this author), and because the book is writt ve theories of the mind which probably oppose each other where they intersect.

Smoking is bad for you, so that book is bad for you. You should send it to me instead. That's what the author tries to convey. (Actually I have ordered it already. It sounded like a book I must have, even before I read your posts about it. I have also ordered "Gödel, Escher, Bach", which I have been wanting to read for a long time.)

*The reason for the two forms of the indefinite article is purely phonetic, so your soul should just get used to "a unique ...". And it should be "a (seemingly ...".

Originally posted by ChronicLeaky
This is a bit weird. About twenty minutes ago, I finished a cigarette, got into "bed", and began reading a book which I am approximately halfway through and which is rapidly becoming one of my favourite books. The bit I was reading quickly became rather abstract and simultaneously extremely silly (typical of this author), and because the book is writt ...[text shortened]... ve theories of the mind which probably oppose each other where they intersect.

One thing is evident, you didn't understand bicamerality.

Originally posted by Nordlys
Smoking is bad for you, so that book is bad for you. You should send it to me instead. That's what the author tries to convey. (Actually I have ordered it already. It sounded like a book I must have, even before I read your posts about it. I have also ordered "Gödel, Escher, Bach", which I have been wanting to read for a long time.)

*The reason for ...[text shortened]... so your soul should just get used to "a unique ...". And it should be "a (seemingly ...".

"GEB" is quite likely the most interest-dense thing I have ever read. I'd love to have a "LTBdM" thread here once you've got it, if there's interest. (Actually, I know some others here have read "GEB", which would also make a good discussion).

My poor soul.

Originally posted by Palynka
One thing is evident, you didn't understand bicamerality.

Why, because Hofstadter isn't a dead monarch?

Originally posted by ChronicLeaky
"GEB" is quite likely the most interest-dense thing I have ever read. I'd love to have a "LTBdM" thread here once you've got it, if there's interest. (Actually, I know some others here have read "GEB", which would also make a good discussion).

My poor soul.

Maybe you should post your Facebook thingy on here.

It's a unique soul!

Originally posted by rbmorris
I think the question was, should the asterisk symbol be preceded by "a" or "an".

I don't know how this works exactly, but:

PASS