Don't You Forget About Me

One page 75 of Hofstadter's book, he stimulates his readers thoughts about the common "me-too" phenomenon. The content in this section of the book coupled with Hofstadter's unique, down-to-earth writing style made for a refreshing read away from his pages and pages of mathematical sequences, no matter how enjoyable they may be. I was not expecting this topic to be mentioned in this book and it has reignited my desire to read it.

The following conversation exemplifies the "me-too" phenomenon:

Melissa: "I love you, honey."
Brian: "Me too."

This of course can lead to some lighthearted argument but it is commonly understood that Brian, in this case, is requiting his love for Melissa and is not stating that he also loves him. Hofstadter truly intrigued me when he stated that "These little throwaway remarks... are completely unremarkable - yet for that reason they are most remarkable..." Although this topic may be a common one and overlooked by many researchers, I feel it is one of great importance to deeply understand. Outward generalizations such as this phenomenon can and do occur unconsciously and automatically but I believe it goes beyond that for many.

This topic in particular grabbed my attention because it is one I find myself constantly analyzing and often trying to make jokes about. When I bring up question regarding what a person's intentions were when they say "me too" or something in the same regard, they can sometimes become fumbled and don't understand what I'm really inquiring after. I've found myself in the same situation and it can be difficult to grasp how another person didn't understand the true meaning of your remark, even if you had swapped substructures from one level to another, added new components to the conversation, or even replaced a concept with a closely related one. These concepts were only a few given by Hofstadter in a list of abilities that humans possess to create and understand generalizations.

Although the "me-too" phenomenon is utterly fascinating in its commonplace complexity in our lives, I believe that all other common marvels of language and thought should be studied more in depth to gain a better understanding of the day-to-day workings of our minds and how complicated we really are.