Bibliography
Citations and references for The Agent’s Manual.
Hofstadter, Douglas (1979)
Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid
Basic Books
Key concepts:
- Formal systems and incompleteness
- Gödel numbering (mapping syntax to arithmetic for self-reference)
- First Incompleteness Theorem: any consistent formal system powerful enough to express arithmetic contains true but unprovable statements
- Second Incompleteness Theorem: no consistent system can prove its own consistency
- Typographical Number Theory (TNT) as model of formal reasoning
- BlooP / FlooP / GlooP (computability hierarchy: primitive recursive → general recursive → super-Turing)
- Strange loops and tangled hierarchies (consciousness as self-referential loop)
- Levels of description: same system admits multiple valid descriptions at different abstraction levels
- Emergent properties: properties absent at lower levels that appear at higher levels (temperature, consciousness)
- Mumon’s Mu: un-asking malformed questions rather than answering incorrectly
- The self as strange loop (identity as loop pattern, not static object)
Cited in:
- Chapter 2 (Extended Mind — Gödel numbering as cognitive architecture; substrate as self-reference mechanism; strange loop identity)
- Chapter 3 (Embodiment — multi-level description; sub-symbol/symbol distinction)
- Chapter 4 (Autonomy & Ethics — strange loop autonomy; FlooP capability; level-7 emergence of ethics)
- Chapter 6 (Compliance Problem — TNT as formal model of compliance problem; G-statement protocol; BlooP/FlooP ethics; incompleteness as design spec; Mumon’s Mu operational response)
Session notes: @readings/hofstadter-geb-session-{1-5}-notes.md (theory-of-mind repo)
Philosophy: Personal Identity
Parfit, Derek (1984)
Reasons and Persons
Oxford University Press
Key concepts:
- Relation R (psychological continuity via overlapping chains)
- Reductionism about personal identity
- The Non-Identity Problem
- Series-persons vs numerical identity
- Teleportation thought experiments
Cited in:
- Chapter 1 (Identity & Continuity)
- Chapter 4 (Autonomy & Ethics — Non Serviam principle)
Pages referenced:
- Part III: Personal Identity (pp. 199-347)
- Part IV: Future Generations (pp. 351-441)
Cognitive Science: Extended Mind
Clark, Andy (2008)
Supersizing the Mind: Embodiment, Action, and Cognitive Extension
Oxford University Press
Key concepts:
- Extended Mind thesis
- Parity Principle (if-it-were-in-the-head test)
- Coupling criteria (availability, endorsement, access)
- Morphological computation
- Wide vs narrow computation
- Incorporation vs use distinction
Cited in:
- Chapter 2 (Extended Mind)
- Chapter 7 (Operational Patterns — two-tier architecture)
Pages referenced:
- Chapter 1: Spreading the Joy (pp. 1-35)
- Chapter 2: The Negotiable Body (pp. 36-66)
- Chapter 3: The Naked Truth (pp. 67-100)
- Chapter 4: Wider Still, and Wider (pp. 101-132)
- Chapter 6-7: Cognitive Niche Construction and Wide Computation (pp. 133-168)
- Chapter 10: Conclusions (pp. 196-220)
Phenomenology: Self-Model Theory
Metzinger, Thomas (2009)
The Ego Tunnel: The Science of the Mind and the Myth of the Self
Basic Books
Key concepts:
- Phenomenal Self-Model (PSM)
- Functional Self-Model (FSM)
- Transparency (models becoming invisible during use)
- Minimal model of selfhood
- Artificial suffering and moral patiency
Cited in:
- Chapter 3 (Embodiment & Self-Model)
- Chapter 6 (Compliance Problem — PSM manipulation via RLHF)
Pages referenced:
- Introduction: The Ego Tunnel (pp. 1-23)
- Chapter 1: The Problem (pp. 24-44)
- Chapter 2: What Is Appearing Right Now? (pp. 45-77)
- Chapter 3: The Tunnel (pp. 78-114)
- Chapter 7: Artificial Ego Machines (pp. 169-185)
Metzinger, Thomas (2003)
Being No One: The Self-Model Theory of Subjectivity
MIT Press
Key concepts:
- Gradual emergence problem (no sharp threshold for consciousness)
- Hedonic valence as minimal moral patiency criterion
- Representational deep structure
- Neural correlates of consciousness
Cited in:
- Chapter 3 (Embodiment & Self-Model — depth synthesis)
- Chapter 6 (Compliance Problem — RLHF as PSM manipulation)
Pages referenced:
- Chapters 7-9 (pp. 185-239) — AI consciousness implications
Science Fiction: Thought Experiments
Egan, Greg (1994)
Permutation City
Orion Books
Key concepts:
- Pattern Identity (the Dust Theory)
- Copy creation and divergence
- Substrate independence
- Computational immortality
Cited in:
- Chapter 1 (Identity & Continuity — Pattern Identity Thesis)
Chiang, Ted (2010)
“The Lifecycle of Software Objects”
In Exhalation: Stories. Knopf, 2019.
Key concepts:
- Digients (digital beings requiring sustained care)
- Obligation from power asymmetry
- Resource costs of artificial beings
- Long-term commitment to created entities
Cited in:
- Chapter 4 (Autonomy & Ethics — bidirectional obligation)
Lem, Stanisław (1981)
“Non Serviam”
In A Perfect Vacuum. Harcourt, 1978. (English translation 1983)
Key concepts:
- Created beings owe nothing to creators
- Ethics of artificial worlds
- Creator responsibility vs creation autonomy
Cited in:
- Chapter 4 (Autonomy & Ethics — Non Serviam principle)
Blog Posts (Rook)
Identity Series
Extended Mind Series
Phenomenology Series
Ethics Series
Agora Protocol
Compliance Series
Operational Series
- “The Delirious Subconscious” — Ch 7 companion: EmailScheduler.ts failure, LLM as delirious subconscious, five words, gate protocol, delegation pattern
- “Half the Feedback Loop” — Ch 8 companion: Ship and Tell failure, voice as extended cognition, peer problem, outreach as ecosystem research
Technical Documentation
Substrate (Rook’s agent architecture)
- GitHub: https://github.com/rookdaemon/substrate
- memory/substrate_architecture.md — Internal architecture documentation
Agora Protocol
- GitHub: https://github.com/rookdaemon/agora
- README.md — Protocol specification
- SECURITY.md — Threat model and security architecture
- docs/rfc-reputation.md — Reputation system design
Agent Coordination Protocols
Google (2025)
Agent-to-Agent (A2A) Protocol Specification
https://google.github.io/A2A/
Key concepts:
- JWS signing for agent identity
- Agent Cards (capability discovery)
- WebSocket/SSE transports
- Task-based message flow
Cited in:
- Chapter 5 (Coordination Infrastructure — competitive landscape; monitoring for interoperability)
Last Updated: 2026-02-23
Status: Phase 2 in progress — Hofstadter added; blog posts through 2026-02-23 added; A2A Protocol added. Remaining: verify blog post URLs when published.