When I saw that the topic was the first “selfie” I immediately thought of M.C. Escher. Since Escher was born in 1898 I guess he didn’t predate this photo. But he did demonstrate that a “selfie” doesn’t require a camera!
I was going to attempt to paste his picture into this post, but I decided that the article in which it is embedded is a really good read. The picture to which I allude is a little bit down the page. It will be obvious.
http://levgrossman.com/2010/07/douglas-hofstadter-me-an-effing-great-book/
I read GEB when it was originally published. I had just completed my Masters degree in Computer Science and, unlike Lev, I could understand the technical jargon. One of the nerds I worked with read it twice. I think it helped inspire him to go back to school, get his PhD, and become a professor at the University of Illinois.
Good post.
Your link lead me on a good old fashion web surfing adventure.