John Horton Conway was one of the most important researchers in the history of mathematics. His genius and boundless curiosity enabled him to make significant contributions in many diverse areas throughout his lifetime, including number theory, topology, algebra, knot theory, coding theory, and probability. But John Conway was far more than simply a scientific researcher. Through his games, imagination, sense of humor, and willingness to share all that he knew with anyone who would listen, his influence on mathematicians and mathematical enthusiasts alike will no doubt be felt for generations to come.
We have four guests for this episode, hosted by Marc Strauss, Publishing Director in Mathematics:
Siobhan Roberts is a Canadian science journalist who contributes regularly to the New York Times. She is the author of Genius at Play, The Curious Mind of John Horton Conway. She also wrote a biography of the classical geometer Donald Coxeter, titled King of Infinite Space.
Marjorie Senechal is the Louise Wolf Kahn Professor Emerita in Mathematics and History of Science and Technology at Smith College where, in addition to teaching math and history of science, she was the founding director of the Kahn Institute for pan-disciplinary research. Her own research focusses on tilings and crystallography. She is the former editor-in-chief of The Mathematical Intelligencer.
Colin Adams is the Thomas T. Read Professor of Mathematics at Williams College. He is the author of numerous mathematics research articles on knot theory and low-dimensional topology, humor columnist for The Mathematical Intelligencer, and author or co-author of ten books, including The Knot Book, Zombies & Calculus and Riot at the Calc Exam and Other Mathematically Bent Stories.
Barry Cipra is a freelance mathematics writer based in Northfield, Minnesota. He has been a contributing correspondent for Science magazine and a regular writer for SIAM News. He wrote the first five volumes of What’s Happening in the Mathematical Sciences, and is the author of Misteaks... and How to Find Them Before the Teacher Does: A Calculus Supplement. He received a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Maryland, College Park.
John Conway's book publications with Springer include Sphere Packings, Lattices and Groups and The Book of Numbers.