The arithmoquine of "The arithmoquine of a is not a valid TNT theorem-number" is not a valid TNT theorem-number.

Oh yeah?

I've been through the chapters where Hofstadter brings everything together, multiple times now. And the concept here just refuses to click. I think I understand all the parts well enough - none of the preceding chapters give me any kind of conceptual trouble. But when he gets to the final steps of Gödel's proof, where he starts talking about number theory talking about number theory, where the above sentence gets created... it just doesn't crystallize. I get the typography of it all; I know what a 'quine' does; I know what all the words mean. But no light bulbs light up. The words sail on by...

Even when someone else explains it, I make it to the same spot and fail to experience any kind of Ah Ha! Maybe I shouldn't? Maybe Gödel's theorem isn't supposed to rock my world?

Whatever. I was never much good at this higher math stuff anyway.

Have you read this book? Did it click for you?