cameron/colby

MC Mechanic / Shane WillisA few months ago, I arrived home from vacation to find an unmarked package from Göteborg, Sweden, sitting on my desk. Inside the package was a very mysterious book entitled Being or Nothingness.  The package contained no return address, but only the handwritten message "Will tell you more when I return" in its place.  That's where the story begins...

At first I thought the package must have been sent by a friend. As I opened the book inside, I was greeted with a letter written to Douglas Hofstadter.  I glanced just over the book's cover to look at my own copy of Hofstadter's GEB, sitting no more than two feet away on the table.  It had all the markings of a book a friend would pick out for me.

A curious co-worker wasn't satisfied, and went to look for the book on the internet.  He found nothing but a blog post in Portuguese he couldn't read.  As I walked by his computer, he closed the browser window, and in the last second my eye caught something.  I had him re-open the page to find that the photos in the blog post pictured the exact envelope I had received, complete with the same stamps and handwriting style.  The book had also been sent to Brazil...

In the time since, I have been in contact with a half-dozen or so other individuals who have received the book.

Observations:

• The book appears to have been delivered to a fairly small number of targeted individuals.
• These individuals are all over the world: UK, Iran, South Africa, Australia, US, Canada, Brazil.
• They speak, work, and write in different languages, Farsi and others difficult to web translate.
• They all work in philosophy, logic, mathematics, AI, or neuroscience.
• Apart from their interest in the subject matter, little connection exists between the individuals.
• The book contains hidden references, double entendres, puzzles?, words cut out, misquotes, riddles, and a variety of suggestive and confusing material that centers on self reflexivity.
• To understand the book at all, one would have to know the inside stories of referenced works.
• Even then, it is difficult to gather the meaning of the book (readers have diverse opinions).
• No one yet knows for sure who wrote the book, why, or what it means.
• It is written in British English, not American English.
• A Swedish IP from the right area visited at least one of the recipient's blogs.
• The book is hardback, and elegantly made, not for sale publicly.
• Someone has gone to considerable effort, expense.

The book is called Being or Nothingness (not Sartre's Being AND Nothingness).

Escher's drawing hands on the cover. Joe K is an anagram for Joke, as well as a reference to Joseph Knecht from Hesse's work mentioned in the book.

The book claims to be a lost manuscript of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, recently translated into English from a copy found in Sweden.  It makes special reference to Hesse's The Glass Bead Game, as well as a number of other famous existentialist authors, philosophers, and logicians.  It also includes a ton of seemingly nonsense riddles and quotes, at least some with creative and hidden references.

There are explicit or implicit references to Sartre (title), Douglas Hofstadter (front cover, letter), Escher (front cover, letter) Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (letter) Hume (p4) Godel (p4) Hermann Hesse (p6) Eckhart, Kierkegaard, Wittgenstein, Heidegger, Foucault, Krauss, Einstein, Ibsen, Hobbes (pp 9-11) Douglas Adams (p13) Pythagoras (p13) The Bible (pp16, 17, 19, 20) Solzhenitsyn (p20) John Donne (or Hemingway) (p20), etc.

Even the format of the book itself is a philosophical trick. 

It has been conjectured on the internet that the purpose of the book is either:

• Part of a viral marketing scheme (but no viral component or clear message).
• To convert people to some religion or philosophy (but no clear philosophy).
• To serve as a head hunting puzzle for a job offer.
• To destroy "smart people's" minds.
• Part of an assassination attempt from the Illuminati.

I have no clue.  But if any of you do, please clue me in.

In lieu of other explanations, I believe it is an artistic statement, delivered to its intended audience. When read metaphorically, the book is an abstract exercise in mystery and understanding.

Portuguese blog post: http://muriloq.com/blog/2008/09/being-or-nothingness-marketing-viral-bizarro/

Back cover claims that it contains the lost manuscript of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Inside, a letter to Hofstadter, written in anticipation of "I am a strange loop". The book is a strange loop.

Update: Last weekend, I was at a tech conference in San Jose, and ran into a Ben I know who specializes in AI, matching a post on the blog entry.  Sure enough, he received the book, and the Portuguese blog author is an employee of his.  This is the first known connection between two recipients.  Do you know anyone else who has received it?  I am hoping that this post will bring about something.  I do have two strong leads, but haven't had the time to pursue them. 

A phrase, cut out from the page, can be solved by placing the letter behind. Easy puzzles appear designed to arouse your suspicion to look for more subtle clues.

 If you get a chance, pass this on to anyone you think may be the right demographic to receive this book, or perhaps to know someone who did.  If they did not catch the blog post, it is unlikely they would have known about the recipients and the larger plot. 

Perhaps something, perhaps nothing but an elaborate joke.  Regardless, I think it's a curious story.