“I remember that at some early age, there was nothing more fascinating to me than the idea of taking three 3’s: operating upon 3 with itself!! was sure that this idea was so subtle that it was inconceivable to anyone else—but I dared ask my mother one day how big it was anyway, and she answered “Nine”. I wasn’t sure she knew what I meant, though. Later, my father initiated me into the mysteries of square roots, and ⅰ…”
— Douglas R. Hofstadter, Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid (1980 Pulitzer Prize)
