Genius at play the curious mind of John Horton Conway
Roberts, Siobhan2024
Book
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 humour. 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.Presents the life and accomplishments of the mathematician who inveted game theory, focusing on his quirky and nontraditional methods of teaching at Princeton University.
Main title:
Genius at play the curious mind of John Horton Conway / Siobhan Roberts
Author:
Roberts, Siobhan, author
Imprint:
Princeton, New Jersey Oxford Princeton University Press [2024]©2024
Collation:
xxiv, 454 pages illustrations 21 cm.
Notes:
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents:
Act I. Identity elementsDazzling new worldGymnasticsCalculate the starsNerdish delightsThe vowAct II. ReligionCriteria of virtueCharacter assassinationSnip, clip, prune, lopDotto & CompanyTruth beauty, beauty truthAct III. Mortality flashOptional probability fieldsLustrationTake it as axiomaticHumpty Dumpty's prerogativeAppendix A. On Morley's Trisector TheoremAppendix B. The Lexicode DictionaryAppendix C. Surreally.
ISBN:
9780691267517 (ebook)9780691266404 (paperback)
Dewey class:
510.92510.92B/CON
Language:
English
Added title:
Subject:
Conway, John HortonConway, John H. (John Horton)Biography & AutobiographyMathematicians -- Great Britain -- BiographyMathematics teachers -- Great Britain -- BiographyBiography & Autobiography -- Science & TechnologyGame theoryMathematics teachers -- New Jersey -- Princeton -- BiographyGame theoryMathematiciansNew Jersey -- PrincetonGreat BritainBiography
BRN:
2784390