Updated: 2021-11-06

These are notes from my investigation of the strange case of Joe K and Being or Nothingness. You should know that I approach this from the perspective of a mystery to solve (Sherlock Holmes style), with the assumption that it's some sort of Alternate Reality Game. It really ticks all the boxes of an ARG to me, but I welcome and respect other opinions. Take these notes for what they are: an attempt to structure a lot of loose ends. /Elias

Being or Nothingness.

Recipients of BorN The Collector’s Edition

Beacon of Rational Now.

Bundled Postcard.

2021 Postcard front | back

Nov 9 2006: Letter sent to D.H. (attached to BorN).
Mar 17 2007: Letter to Basic Books (backside).
May 27 2007: Mention in Aftonbladet of BorN.
Aug 20 2008: First mass shipment of books? Mysterious swedish package
Aug 22 2008: Hofstadter confirms recieving copies of the book
Nov 12 2008: Metafilter thread about the book
Nov 2009: Second mass shipment of books? Another mysterious swedish package
May 12 2011: The Psychopath Test (Jon Ronson) published.
2011: BorN final edition.
2012: Ad in New Scientist referencing the countdown timer Beacon of Rational Now.
Jul 17 2014: Joe K investigation Metro article.
Dec 21 2014: Full version here: https://kolbjorn.se/2014/jakten-pa-joe-k-directors-cut/.
Jul 5 2021: New wave of postcards (Sweden only?) https://kolbjorn.se/2021/joe-k-kommer-tillbaka/

• Characters named R? I? B? Dr. Watson? (http://lukemuehlhauser.com/the-riddle-of-being-or-nothingness/)

• The seven letters. Mentioned in attached letter to D.H.

• 2021 12 21 11:11 (Final Countdown) Winter Solstice https://nobodysfriend.blogspot.com/2012/12/beacon-of-rational-now.html Beacon

• Spring Equinox 2013 (Quest) https://nobodysfriend.blogspot.com/2012/12/beacon-of-rational-now.html

• The Giant Rat of Sumatra

Being and Nothingness (Sartre) p.13 🌶️

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Adams) BorN p.13

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Collected Works (Conan Doyle) BorN p.3, p.19

Last day in the life of Ivan Denisovitch (Solzhenitsyn) BorN p.20

David Hume p.4

Gödel p.4

"Gödel, Escher, Bach" p.4

"The Glass Bead Game" p.6

Meister Eckehart p.9

Sören Kierkegaard p.9

Ludwig Witgenstein p.9, p.11

Martin Heidegger p.9

Joe K p.9, p.10, p.11, p.19

Karl Krauss p.10

Albert Einstein p.10

Douglas Hofstadter p.10

Henrik Ibsen p.10

Thomas Hobbes p.11, 2021 postcard

Anonymous p.9, p.11

Pythagoras p.13

Emiliy Dickinsson - The Brain is wider than the sky Referenced on Beacon

Danuta Fjellestad (2021 postcard)

Robert Nozick (2021 postcard)

Muriel Rukeyeser (2021 postcard)

Postcard bought from Fitzwilliam museum cambridge university

Old testament p.16

New testament p.17

Our Father (prayer) p.20

John 12:1-8 With made up swedish translations:
"Det kan väl inte vara så att välfärsstaten är Antikrist? (bundled postcard).
"Den största synd en människa kan begå är att tycka synd om någon." (Beacon).

• Escher "Drawing Hands" Strong.
  Hofstadter explaining strange loop

Medium.
Frequent in Geometric Unity (Weinstein Twitter explaining GU)

Weak.
Referenced in Psychology - The Identity of Opposites (Overton, 2010)

• Cards (Giant Rat, Iris and Butterfly etc)

• Stickers (Geometric unity, Whale/Dolphin/Seal, Butterfly, Flowers etc)

The butterfly used on several instances is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_tortoiseshell

Göteborg, Sweden (Per N).
Cambridge, UK (David Deutch, Postcards)
Indiana, US (Hofstadter, Levi Shand)
What city is depicted on the postcard?

• The Joke.
  Joe K = Joke

• The Alternate Reality Game.
  A real life Glass Bead Game

• The publicity stunt
  Joe K self/book promo
  Hofstadter self-promo
  Timbro
  Religious group

• The psycho
  Doomsday theory (predicting end of the world)

• The Theory of Everything.
  Geometric Unity

• Circada 3301. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syYQUCZZHbE&t=159s&ab_channel=VictorMalevich https://minutopi.se/joek/comment.png

The Riddle of Being or Nothingness Nobody's Friend: Beacon of the Rational Now Being or Nothingness | lucid dogs Varat eller intet - Joe K. - Google Books Beacon Of the Rational Now 3301 butterflies.jpg (1281×1386) The Book (full scan) On “Being or Nothingness” by “Joe K” | Ironwolf Is this viral? I received a strange book... - hofstadter christian wtf | Ask MetaFilter muriloq » Blog Archive » Being or Nothingness: bizarre viral marketing? (5) Lennart Frantzell | LinkedIn A Tenuous Chain | La Luna y su Agua Skuggpoeterna | Kultur | Aftonbladet Gödel, Escher, Bach - Wikipedia Being or Nothingness, Joe K - YouTube Unboxing: Being or Nothingness - YouTube May Day Mystery:Historical Madness Networked uniqueness - Fjellestad - 2019 - Orbis Litterarum - Wiley Online Library Friedman_TheFabricOfRealityReview_2001.pdf Sacred Science Institute GLASS BEAD GAME--Cosmic Play In a Symbolic Universe