Perhaps this is the solution to the entire problem, trap the whole system in a recursive loop. Although then perhaps all the telephones in the world will ring until Douglas Hofstadter answers one of them.
Is that a reference to something? I'm imagining Hofstadter telling fans to call a number at random, and ask the person who answers to call another number at random and repeat the request to whoever answers, with the end result being that Hofstadter's phone would ring and you could talk to him. That sounds like something he'd do, but I can't find a mention of it on Google.
http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/removals/copyright/...
Perhaps this is the solution to the entire problem, trap the whole system in a recursive loop. Although then perhaps all the telephones in the world will ring until Douglas Hofstadter answers one of them.