Genius at Play: The Curious Mind of John Horton Conway (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780691266404)

A multifaceted biography of a brilliant mathematician and iconoclast

A mathematician unlike any other, John Horton Conway (1937-2020) possessed a rock star's charisma, a polymath's promiscuous curiosity, and a sly sense of humor. Conway found fame as a barefoot professor at Cambridge, where he discovered the Conway groups in mathematical symmetry and the aptly named surreal numbers. He also invented the cult classic Game of Life, a cellular automaton that demonstrates how simplicity generates complexity--and provides an analogy for mathematics and the entire universe. Moving to Princeton in 1987, Conway used ropes, dice, pennies, coat hangers, and the occasional Slinky to illustrate his winning imagination and share his nerdish delights. Genius at Play tells the story of this ambassador-at-large for the beauties and joys of mathematics, lays bare Conway's personal and professional idiosyncrasies, and offers an intimate look into the mind of one of the twentieth century's most endearing and original intellectuals.

Author: Siobhan Roberts
ISBN-10: 0691266409
ISBN-13: 9780691266404
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Language: English
Published: 10/29/2024
Pages: 480
Format: Paperback
Weight: 1.20lbs
Size: 8.00h x 5.25w x 1.07d