If you want to read the crowning book for intellectuals of the 20th Century, read
Godel, Escher, Bach.
Wiki says:
Quote:
On its surface, GEB examines logician Kurt Gödel, artist M. C. Escher and composer Johann Sebastian Bach, discussing common themes in their work and lives. At a deeper level, the book is a detailed and subtle exposition of concepts fundamental to mathematics, symmetry, and intelligence.
Through illustration and analysis, the book discusses how self-reference and formal rules allow systems to acquire meaning despite being made of "meaningless" elements. It also discusses what it means to communicate, how knowledge can be represented and stored, the methods and limitations of symbolic representation, and even the fundamental notion of "meaning" itself.
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It'll be difficult to find a more interesting tome of intellectual knowledge. It's three birds with one stone: art, music, and math. Though the underlying theme is mostly logical, philosophical, and mathematical. The book kicks ass, but you might be looking for more superficial, basic knowledge on subjects, in which case this book will be a bit much.