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eroston's review
Siobhan Roberts has more fun than you do at work, and learns more.
awodeyar's review
5.0
I gave it 5 stars for the simple reason that I've never read a book like this, let alone a biography. It was simply unique in how it set out to frame its subject, a mathematician dealing in truly abstract spaces. I can't say I know that much more about surreal numbers now that I did before reading the book, but I did get a sense of what it meant to think about them and that was something. Also, I know far more about the Game of Life than I care to now.
thomcat's review
4.0
Biography of mathematician John Horton Conway in three parts. Enough math and geometry to get the gist of his insights - definitely not overwhelming to the number phobic. Overseen by the subject, who is quoted liberally throughout, this is an interesting read.
Conway was very active in number and knot theory, groups and combinatorial games, but the first line of most biographical entries is the Game of Life. That work (and related exchanges with Martin Gardner) make up the middle part of the book; the other two are essentially before and after Life. An epilogue and appendices delve a little deeper into the math; a bibliography gives some direction for more. This is first and foremost a book about the mathematician, not the math.
Roberts first met Conway at Mathcamp while researching her book on Donald Coxeter, one of his mentors. The quirky lifestyle of Conway has led to many anecdotes, and resulted in a solid year of editing this biography. In the end, she has captured the eccentric genius in a very readable format. I look forward to reading her book on Coxeter, [b:King of Infinite Space: Donald Coxeter, the Man Who Saved Geometry|207949|King of Infinite Space Donald Coxeter, the Man Who Saved Geometry|Siobhan Roberts|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1317793269s/207949.jpg|1744459].
Conway was very active in number and knot theory, groups and combinatorial games, but the first line of most biographical entries is the Game of Life. That work (and related exchanges with Martin Gardner) make up the middle part of the book; the other two are essentially before and after Life. An epilogue and appendices delve a little deeper into the math; a bibliography gives some direction for more. This is first and foremost a book about the mathematician, not the math.
Roberts first met Conway at Mathcamp while researching her book on Donald Coxeter, one of his mentors. The quirky lifestyle of Conway has led to many anecdotes, and resulted in a solid year of editing this biography. In the end, she has captured the eccentric genius in a very readable format. I look forward to reading her book on Coxeter, [b:King of Infinite Space: Donald Coxeter, the Man Who Saved Geometry|207949|King of Infinite Space Donald Coxeter, the Man Who Saved Geometry|Siobhan Roberts|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1317793269s/207949.jpg|1744459].
konrads's review
5.0
Roberts has produced a compelling sketch of Conway both as a (highly creative) mathematician and as an individual, and somehow also managed to make the fascination of (more or less pure) mathematics palpable for the layperson. Through their (Roberts and Conway’s) journeys and (often humorous) interactions, we gain a small window into Conway’s background, work ethic, habits, mindset, and struggles (alongside refreshing hints of how at least some of his image was consciously constructed), all of which the academic in me would love to draw some lessons from.
Bonus neuroscience content: Towards the end of the book, they pay a visit to Sandra Witelson, the neuroscientist who has made it her mission to study the brains of individuals thought to have remarkable minds. I am only very loosely acquainted with her work, so I may just be missing the complete picture, but I found myself nodding along to the more skeptical stance of neuroscience-layman Conway in response to some of her thoughts and methods, such as when she said, “I have people asking me whether Einstein’s brain got to be the way it is because he did so much physics. And of course I think it is the other way around. I think he did so much physics because his brain had a certain anatomy.”
I doubt her narrative, but that is far from the point of the book, so I’ll leave it at that. Suffice it to say that I don’t think that her fMRI studies of Conway will produce any meaningful insights into his creative ingenuity.
I took a lot of additional pleasure in the vivid scenes of his life in Cambridge (between the 50s and the 80s), both in the sense of its historical insights, as well as that reminiscent delight of tracing a historical narrative in a physical place that one is (at least slightly) familiar with.
I really enjoyed this trip, and look forward to further encounters with mathematical ideas and concepts (and personalities). (Interestingly, the "beauty and truth" of mathematics, as propagated here, conveniently show the seduction with which certain pockets of theoretical physics may have gotten lost in math.)
Bonus neuroscience content: Towards the end of the book, they pay a visit to Sandra Witelson, the neuroscientist who has made it her mission to study the brains of individuals thought to have remarkable minds. I am only very loosely acquainted with her work, so I may just be missing the complete picture, but I found myself nodding along to the more skeptical stance of neuroscience-layman Conway in response to some of her thoughts and methods, such as when she said, “I have people asking me whether Einstein’s brain got to be the way it is because he did so much physics. And of course I think it is the other way around. I think he did so much physics because his brain had a certain anatomy.”
I doubt her narrative, but that is far from the point of the book, so I’ll leave it at that. Suffice it to say that I don’t think that her fMRI studies of Conway will produce any meaningful insights into his creative ingenuity.
I took a lot of additional pleasure in the vivid scenes of his life in Cambridge (between the 50s and the 80s), both in the sense of its historical insights, as well as that reminiscent delight of tracing a historical narrative in a physical place that one is (at least slightly) familiar with.
I really enjoyed this trip, and look forward to further encounters with mathematical ideas and concepts (and personalities). (Interestingly, the "beauty and truth" of mathematics, as propagated here, conveniently show the seduction with which certain pockets of theoretical physics may have gotten lost in math.)
paulogonzalez's review
4.0
Conway is a prolific mathematician, active in theory of finite groups, knot theory, number theory or recreational maths. He is kind of famous for his invention of the Game of Life, but also another games like Sprouts or Phutball, even a new numerical system, the surreal numbers.
A little eccentric, there is no doubt that John H. Conway is a genius. And as such, his career is very interesting. The author says the only way to write a biography of him was with Conway speaking a lot for himself, for he is a great talker. She says: «and while the volume of primary source material doesn't dictate the length of a book, Conway's talent for chattering on guaranteed his biography would be something more than a jumped-up character sketch—he's hard to turn off, and he's difficult to condese».
So, the information for the book comes from a main source: Conway himself, to whom Roberts quotes throughout the entire book. His interventions are fresh, witty and sometimes hilarious. Besides, she also interviewed people close to him, both his family and his colleagues.
In this book there is a lot of his mathematical career, and only some brief explanations of his personal life. You will find here the mathematician rather than the person. I like this approach, for although his life partly explains his personality and his manners, it is his profesional life what I am more curious about. Roberts explores Conway's suicide attempt, but she only but she does not go too deep into his love affairs.
A little eccentric, there is no doubt that John H. Conway is a genius. And as such, his career is very interesting. The author says the only way to write a biography of him was with Conway speaking a lot for himself, for he is a great talker. She says: «and while the volume of primary source material doesn't dictate the length of a book, Conway's talent for chattering on guaranteed his biography would be something more than a jumped-up character sketch—he's hard to turn off, and he's difficult to condese».
So, the information for the book comes from a main source: Conway himself, to whom Roberts quotes throughout the entire book. His interventions are fresh, witty and sometimes hilarious. Besides, she also interviewed people close to him, both his family and his colleagues.
In this book there is a lot of his mathematical career, and only some brief explanations of his personal life. You will find here the mathematician rather than the person. I like this approach, for although his life partly explains his personality and his manners, it is his profesional life what I am more curious about. Roberts explores Conway's suicide attempt, but she only but she does not go too deep into his love affairs.
jwezorek's review
3.0
It's a good book if you are interested in its subject, but even then gets repetitive.
Basically I am not sure who the audience is here: if you already know about Conway's actual work at any kind of nontrivial level, you aren't going to need Siobhan Robert's explication of those topics, but if you don't know anything about the relevant mathematics -- e.g. group theory, etc. -- her coverage of these topics isn't going to be enough to be helpful.
So I'd say you probably know if you should read this book. If you know who John Horton Conway is and who Martin Gardner is and who Stephen Wolfram is and who Roger Penrose is and you are interested in the weirdness of the Monster Group and the crazy fecundity of Conway Life etc. then you probably will enjoy reading through this book even if you end up skimming parts. Otherwise, I cant say I'd recommend it. A biography like this can't instill an interest in mathematics in someone.
Basically I am not sure who the audience is here: if you already know about Conway's actual work at any kind of nontrivial level, you aren't going to need Siobhan Robert's explication of those topics, but if you don't know anything about the relevant mathematics -- e.g. group theory, etc. -- her coverage of these topics isn't going to be enough to be helpful.
So I'd say you probably know if you should read this book. If you know who John Horton Conway is and who Martin Gardner is and who Stephen Wolfram is and who Roger Penrose is and you are interested in the weirdness of the Monster Group and the crazy fecundity of Conway Life etc. then you probably will enjoy reading through this book even if you end up skimming parts. Otherwise, I cant say I'd recommend it. A biography like this can't instill an interest in mathematics in someone.
robindawes's review
5.0
A treasure-chest of mathematical delights, as well as a fascinating look into the life and mind of one of the most interesting people alive.
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