Conway is widely known for his contributions to [[combinatorial game theory]] (CGT), a theory of [[partisan game]]s. This he developed with [[Elwyn Berlekamp]] and [[Richard K. Guy|Richard Guy]], and with them also co-authored the book ''[[Winning Ways for your Mathematical Plays]]''. He also wrote the book ''[[On Numbers and Games]]'' (''ONAG'') which lays out the mathematical foundations of CGT.
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He is also one of the inventors of [[Sprouts (game)|sprouts]], as well as [[phutball|philosopher's football]]. He developed detailed analyses of many other games and puzzles, such as the [[Soma cube]], [[peg solitaire]], and [[Conway's soldiers]]. He came up with the [[angel problem]], which was solved in 2006.
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He invented a new system of numbers, the [[surreal numbers]], which are closely related to certain games and have been the subject of a mathematical novelette by [[Donald Knuth]].<ref>[http://discovermagazine.com/1995/dec/infinityplusonea599 Infinity Plus One, and Other Surreal Numbers] by Polly Shulman, [[Discover Magazine]], 1 December 1995</ref> He also invented a nomenclature for exceedingly [[large number]]s, the [[Conway chained arrow notation]]. Much of this is discussed in the 0th part of ''ONAG''.
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===Geometry===
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In the mid-1960s with [[Michael Guy (computer scientist)|Michael Guy]], Conway established that there are sixty-four [[uniform polychoron|convex uniform polychora]] excluding two infinite sets of prismatic forms. They discovered the [[grand antiprism]] in the process, the only [[non-Wythoffian]] uniform [[polychoron]]. Conway has also suggested a system of notation dedicated to describing [[polyhedra]] called [[Conway polyhedron notation]].
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In the theory of tessellations, he devised the [[Conway criterion]] which describes rules for deciding if a prototile will tile the plane.<ref name=rhoads>{{cite journal| doi=10.1016/j.cam.2004.05.002 | volume=174 | issue=2 | title=Planar tilings by polyominoes, polyhexes, and polyiamonds | year=2005 | journal=Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics | pages=329–353 | last1 = Rhoads | first1 = Glenn C.| bibcode=2005JCoAM.174..329R }}</ref>
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He investigated lattices in higher dimensions, and was the first to determine the symmetry group of the [[Leech lattice]].
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===Geometric topology===
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In knot theory, Conway formulated a new variation of the [[Alexander polynomial]] and produced a new invariant now called the Conway polynomial.<ref>[http://mathworld.wolfram.com/ConwayPolynomial.html Conway Polynomial] [[Wolfram MathWorld]]</ref> After lying dormant for more than a decade, this concept became central to work in the 1980s on the novel [[knot polynomial]]s.<ref>Livingston, Charles, Knot Theory (MAA Textbooks), 1993, {{ISBN|0883850273}}</ref> Conway further developed [[tangle theory]] and invented a system of notation for tabulating knots, nowadays known as [[Conway notation (knot theory)|Conway notation]], while correcting a number of errors in the 19th century knot tables and extending them to include all but four of the non-alternating primes with 11 crossings. See Topology Proceedings 7 (1982) 118.
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===Group theory===
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He was the primary author of the ''[[ATLAS of Finite Groups]]'' giving properties of many [[finite simple group]]s. Working with his colleagues Robert Curtis and [[Simon P. Norton]] he constructed the first concrete representations of some of the [[sporadic group]]s. More specifically, he discovered three sporadic groups based on the symmetry of the [[Leech lattice]], which have been designated the [[Conway groups]].<ref name=harris>Harris (2015)</ref> This work made him a key player in the successful [[classification of the finite simple groups]].
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Based on a 1978 observation by mathematician [[John McKay (mathematician)|John McKay]], Conway and Norton formulated the complex of conjectures known as [[monstrous moonshine]]. This subject, named by Conway, relates the [[monster group]] with [[elliptic modular function]]s, thus bridging two previously distinct areas of mathematics–[[finite group]]s and [[complex function theory]]. Monstrous moonshine theory has now been revealed to also have deep connections to [[string theory]].<ref>[http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/M/Monstrous_Moonshine_conjecture.html Monstrous Moonshine conjecture] David Darling: Encyclopedia of Science</ref>
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Conway introduced the [[Mathieu groupoid]], an extension of the [[Mathieu group M12|Mathieu group M<sub>12</sub>]] to 13 points.
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===Number theory===
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As a graduate student, he proved one case of a [[Waring's problem|conjecture]] by [[Edward Waring]], that in which every integer could be written as the sum of 37 numbers, each raised to the fifth power, though [[Chen Jingrun]] solved the problem independently before Conway's work could be published.<ref>[http://www.ems-ph.org/journals/newsletter/pdf/2005-09-57.pdf#page=34 Breakfast with John Horton Conway]</ref>
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===Algebra===
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Conway has written textbooks and done original work in algebra, focusing particularly on [[quaternion]]s and [[octonion]]s.<ref>Conway and Smith (2003): "Conway and Smith's book is a wonderful introduction to the normed division algebras: the real numbers, the complex numbers, the quaternions, and the octonions."</ref> Together with [[Neil Sloane]], he invented the [[icosians]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/week20.html| title=This Week's Finds in Mathematical Physics (Week 20)| author=John Baez| date=2 October 1993}}</ref>
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===Analysis===
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He invented a [[Conway base 13 function|base 13 function]] as a counterexample to the [[converse (logic)|converse]] of the [[intermediate value theorem]]: the function takes on every real value in each interval on the real line, so it has a [[Darboux property]] but is ''not'' [[continuous function|continuous]].
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===Algorithmics===
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For calculating the day of the week, he invented the [[Doomsday algorithm]]. The algorithm is simple enough for anyone with basic arithmetic ability to do the calculations mentally. Conway can usually give the correct answer in under two seconds. To improve his speed, he practices his calendrical calculations on his computer, which is programmed to quiz him with random dates every time he logs on. One of his early books was on [[finite-state machine]]s.
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===Theoretical physics===
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In 2004, Conway and [[Simon B. Kochen]], another Princeton mathematician, proved the [[free will theorem]], a startling version of the "[[Hidden-variable theory|no hidden variables]]" principle of [[quantum mechanics]]. It states that given certain conditions, if an experimenter can freely decide what quantities to measure in a particular experiment, then elementary particles must be free to choose their spins to make the measurements consistent with physical law. In Conway's provocative wording: "if experimenters have [[free will]], then so do elementary particles."<ref>''[http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~jas/one/freewill-theorem.html Conway's Proof Of The Free Will Theorem] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100516002546/http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~jas/one/freewill-theorem.html |date=16 May 2010 }}'' by Jasvir Nagra</ref>
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==Awards and honours==
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Conway received the [[Berwick Prizes|Berwick Prize]] (1971),<ref name="LMS Prizewinners">
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[https://www.lms.ac.uk/prizes/list-lms-prize-winners London Mathematical Society Prizewinners]</ref> was elected a [[Fellow of the Royal Society]] (1981),<ref name=royal/> was the first recipient of the [[Pólya Prize (LMS)]] (1987),<ref name="LMS Prizewinners"/> won the [[Nemmers Prize in Mathematics]] (1998) and received the [[Leroy P. Steele Prize]] for Mathematical Exposition (2000) of the [[American Mathematical Society]].
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His nomination, in 1981, reads: {{quote|A versatile mathematician who combines a deep combinatorial insight with algebraic virtuosity, particularly in the construction and manipulation of "off-beat" algebraic structures which illuminate a wide variety of problems in completely unexpected ways. He has made distinguished contributions to the theory of finite groups, to the theory of knots, to mathematical logic (both set theory and automata theory) and to the theory of games (as also to its practice).<ref name=royal/>}}
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In 2017 Conway was given honorary membership of the British [[Mathematical Association]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.m-a.org.uk/honorary-members|title=Honorary Members|last=|first=|date=|website=The Mathematical Association|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=April 11, 2020}}</ref>
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==Publications==
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* 2008 ''The Symmetries of Things'' (with Heidi Burgiel and [[Chaim Goodman-Strauss]]). [[A. K. Peters]], Wellesley, MA, 2008, {{ISBN|1568812205}}.
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* 1997 ''The Sensual (quadratic) Form'' (with Francis Yein Chei Fung). [[Mathematical Association of America]], Washington, DC, 1997, Series: Carus mathematical monographs, no. 26, {{isbn|1614440255}}.
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* 1996 ''The Book of Numbers'' (with [[Richard K. Guy]]). [[Copernicus Publications|Copernicus]], New York, 1996, {{isbn|0614971667}}.
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* 1995 ''Minimal-Energy Clusters of Hard Spheres'' (with [[Neil Sloane]], R. H. Hardin, and [[Tom Duff]]). [[Discrete & Computational Geometry]], vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 237–259.
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* 1988 ''Sphere Packings, Lattices, and Groups''<ref>{{cite journal |last=Guy |first=Richard K.|authorlink=Richard K. Guy|title=Review: ''Sphere packings, lattices and groups'', by J. H. Conway and N. J. A. Sloane |journal=Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society (N.S.) |year=1989 |volume=21|issue=1|pages=142–147|url=http://www.ams.org/journals/bull/1989-21-01/S0273-0979-1989-15795-9/S0273-0979-1989-15795-9.pdf |doi= 10.1090/s0273-0979-1989-15795-9 }}</ref> (with [[Neil Sloane]]). [[Springer-Verlag]], New York, Series: Grundlehren der mathematischen Wissenschaften, 290, {{isbn|9780387966175}}.
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* 1985 ''[[Atlas of finite groups]]'' (with Robert Turner Curtis, [[Simon Phillips Norton]], [[Richard A. Parker]], and [[Robert Arnott Wilson]]). [[Clarendon Press]], New York, [[Oxford University Press]], 1985, {{isbn|0198531990}}.
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* 1982 ''[[Winning Ways for your Mathematical Plays]]'' (with [[Richard K. Guy]] and [[Elwyn Berlekamp]]). [[Academic Press]], {{isbn|0120911507}}.
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* 1979 ''Monstrous Moonshine'' (with [[Simon P. Norton]]).<ref>http://blms.oxfordjournals.org/content/11/3/308</ref> [[Bulletin of the London Mathematical Society]], vol. 11, issue 2, pp. 308–339.
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* 1979 ''On the Distribution of Values of Angles Determined by Coplanar Points'' (with [[Paul Erdős]], [[Michael Guy]], and H. T. Croft). [[London Mathematical Society|Journal of the London Mathematical Society]], vol. II, series 19, pp. 137–143.
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* 1976 ''[[On numbers and games]]''. [[Academic Press]], New York, 1976, Series: L.M.S. monographs, 6, {{isbn|0121863506}}.
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* 1971 ''Regular algebra and finite machines''. [[Chapman and Hall]], London, 1971, Series: Chapman and Hall mathematics series, {{isbn|0412106205}}.
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==See also==
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* [[List of things named after John Horton Conway]]
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==References==
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{{reflist|30em}}
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==Sources==
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* Alpert, Mark (1999). ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20030427214911/http://www.cpdee.ufmg.br/~seixas/PaginaATR/Download/DownloadFiles/NotJustFunAndGames.PDF Not Just Fun and Games]'' ''Scientific American'', April 1999
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* Conway, John and Smith, Derek A. (2003). ''[http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/octonions/conway_smith/ On quaternions and Octonions : their Geometry, Arithmetic, and Symmetry]'' Bull. Amer. Math. Soc. 2005, vol=42, issue=2, pp. 229–243, {{ISBN|1568811349}}
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* [[Margaret Boden|Boden, Margaret]] (2006). ''Mind As Machine'', Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 1271
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* Case, James (2014). ''[https://sinews.siam.org/Details-Page/martin-gardners-mathematical-grapevine Martin Gardner’s Mathematical Grapevine]'' Book Reviews of ''Undiluted Hocus-Pocus: The Autobiography of Martin Gardner'' and ''Martin Gardner in the Twenty-First Century'', By James Case, [[Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics|SIAM]] News, April 01, 2014
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* Conway, John and Sigur, Steve (2005). ''[https://openlibrary.org/books/OL12190669M/The_Triangle_Book The Triangle Book]'' AK Peters, Ltd, 15 June 2005, {{isbn|1568811659}}
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* [[Marcus du Sautoy|du Sautoy, Marcus]] (2008). ''Symmetry'', HarperCollins, p. 308
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* [[Richard K. Guy|Guy, Richard K]] (1983). ''[https://www.jstor.org/pss/2690263 Conway's Prime Producing Machine]'' [[Mathematics Magazine]], Vol. 56, No. 1 (Jan. 1983), pp. 26–33
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* [[Michael Harris (mathematician)|Harris, Michael]] (2015). [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v523/n7561/full/523406a.html Review of ''Genius At Play: The Curious Mind of John Horton Conway''] ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'', 23 July 2015
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* Mulcahy, Colm (2014). ''[https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/the-top-10-martin-gardner-scientific-american-articles/?redirect=1 The Top 10 Martin Gardner Scientific American Articles]'' Scientific American, October 21, 2014
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* {{cite book |last=Roberts |first=Siobhan |date=2015 |title=Genius at play: The curious mind of John Horton Conway |url= |location= |publisher= Bloomsbury |page= |isbn=978-1620405932 |author-link= }}
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* {{MacTutor Biography|id=Conway}}
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* {{MathGenealogy|id=18849}}
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* Princeton University (2009). [http://www.math.princeton.edu/WebCV/ConwayBIB.pdf Bibliography of John H. Conway] Mathematics Department
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* Rendell, Paul (2015). ''[https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783319198415 Turing Machine Universality of the Game of Life]'' Springer, July 2015, {{isbn|3319198416}}
* [http://www.adeptis.ru/vinci/m_part3_3.html Photos of John Horton Conway]
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* {{cite web |url= https://mediacentral.princeton.edu/media/Proof+of+the+Free+Will+Theorem/1_pvviswj5 |format= Video |title= Proof of the Free Will Theorem |series= Archived Lectures |date= 20 April 2009 |first= John |last= Conway }}
** {{youtube|ea7lJkEhytA|Look-and-Say Numbers. Feat John Conway (2014) }}
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** {{youtube|R9Plq-D1gEk|Inventing the Game of Life (2014) }}
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* {{youtube|dVpydmTqfNw|The Princeton Brick (2014) }} Conway leading a tour of brickwork patterns in Princeton, lecturing on the ordinals and on sums of powers and the Bernoulli numbers
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{{Conway's Game of Life}}
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2020年4月12日 (日) 11:36的版本
约翰·霍顿·康威 John Horton Conway [1](生于1937年12月26日,<!-死因尚未得到可靠来源的证实->)是一位活跃于有限群 finite groups理论的英国数学家,纽结理论 knot theory,数论 number theory,组合博弈论 combinatorial game theory和编码论 coding theory。 他还为趣味数学 recreational mathematics的许多分支做出了贡献,其中最著名的是元胞自动机 Cellular Automata的发明,康威的生命游戏。 康威(Conway)先是在英国剑桥大学度过他一半的职业生涯,而在新泽西普林斯顿大学的新泽西州度过了下半场职业生涯,他获得了John von Neumann荣誉教授的头衔。 .[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
Conway is especially known for the invention of the Game of Life, one of the early examples of a cellular automaton. His initial experiments in that field were done with pen and paper, long before personal computers existed.
Since the game was introduced by Martin Gardner in Scientific American in 1970,[13] it has spawned hundreds of computer programs, web sites, and articles.[14] It is a staple of recreational mathematics. There is an extensive wiki devoted to curating and cataloging the various aspects of the game.[15] From the earliest days, it has been a favorite in computer labs, both for its theoretical interest and as a practical exercise in programming and data display. At times Conway has said he hates the Game of Life–largely because it has come to overshadow some of the other deeper and more important things he has done.[16] Nevertheless, the game did help launch a new branch of mathematics, the field of cellular automata.[17]
康威因其对组合博弈论(CGT)的贡献而广为人知,这是一种党派博弈理论。他与 Elwyn Berlekamp 和 Richard Guy 共同发展了这一理论,并与他们合著了《数学游戏的制胜之道(Winning Ways for your Mathematical Plays)》一书。他还写了CGT 的数学奠基之作——《关于数字和游戏(On Numbers and Games)》(ONAG)。
2004年,康威和另一位普林斯顿的数学家西蒙(Simon B. Kochen)证明了自由意志定理(free will theorem),这是量子力学的无隐变量(no hidden variables)原理一个惊人版本。它指出,在某些条件下,如果实验者可以自由决定在特定实验中测量什么量,那么基本粒子必须能够自由选择其自旋,以使测量结果与物理定律一致。康威挑衅性的措辞是: “如果实验者有自由意志,那么基本粒子也有。”
应用与计算数学约翰·冯·诺伊曼教授(John von Neumann Professor),荣誉退休
著作
Regular Algebra and Finite Machines, Chapman and Hall, Ltd. London, 1971.
All Numbers Great and Small, Research Paper No. 149, Calgary, Alberta, Canada: The University of Calgary, Dept. of Mathematics and Statistics, 1972.
All Games Bright and Beautiful, Research Paper No. 295, Calgary, Alberta, Canada: The University of Calgary, Dept. of Mathematics and Statistics, 1975.
On Numbers and Games, London Mathematical Society Monographs, No. 6, Academic Press, London-New-San Francisco, 1976.
(with E.R. Berlekamp and R.K. Guy), Winning Ways, for Your Mathematical Plays, Vol. 1: Games in General, Vol. 2: Games in Particular, New York-London: Academic Press, 1982, ISBN 0120911027, Paperback (August, 1982), Academic Press, ISBN 0120911027.
(with R.T. Curtis, S.P. Norton, R.A. Parker and R.A. Wilson), Atlas of Finite Groups: Maximal Subgroups and Ordinary Characters for Simple Groups, Oxford, Clarendon Press, New York, Oxford University Press, 1985.
(with N.J.A. Sloane), Sphere Packings, Lattices, and Groups, (with additional contributions by E. Bannai, J. Leech, S.P. Norton, A.M. Odlyzko, R.A. Parker, L. Queen and B.B. Venkov), Grundlehren der Mathematischen Wissenschaften, 209, Springer-Verlag, New York, 1988, ISBN 0-387-96617-X, Russian Translation: Mir, Moscow, 1990, 2nd edition 1993, ISBN 0-387-97912-3, 3rd edition 1998, ISBN 0-387-98585-9.
(with R.K. Guy), The Book of Numbers, Copernicus. An Imprint of SpringerVerlag, New York, 1996, ISBN 0-387-97993-X, Review by Ian Stewart. Review by Susan Stefney, Corrected 2nd printing, 1998.
(with Francis Y.C. Fung), The Sensual (Quadratic) Form, MAA (Series: Carus Mathematical Monographs), Printed in the U.S.A., 1997, ISBN 0-88385-030-3.
(with N.J.A. Sloane), The Geometry of Low-Dimensional Groups and Lattices, (in preparation).
(with D. Smith), “Quaternions, Octonions, and Geometry,” AK Peters, Publishers, January 2003. preparation).
A Life in Games:约翰·何顿·康威声称他一生中从未有一天是在工作。 此文根据传记《游戏中的天才(Genius at Play)》改编,展示了诸如超现实数(surreal numbers)之类的重大突破是如何从娱乐和游戏中产生的。《量子杂志(Quanta Magazine)》,西沃恩·罗伯茨(Siobhan Roberts)
↑Conway, J. H.; Hardin, R. H.; Sloane, N. J. A. (1996). "Packing Lines, Planes, etc.: Packings in Grassmannian Spaces". Experimental Mathematics. 5 (2): 139. arXiv:math/0208004. doi:10.1080/10586458.1996.10504585.
↑Conway, J. H.; Sloane, N. J. A. (1990). "A new upper bound on the minimal distance of self-dual codes". IEEE Transactions on Information Theory. 36 (6): 1319. doi:10.1109/18.59931.
↑Conway, J. H.; Sloane, N. J. A. (1993). "Self-dual codes over the integers modulo 4". Journal of Combinatorial Theory, Series A. 62: 30–45. doi:10.1016/0097-3165(93)90070-O.
↑Conway, J. H.; Lagarias, J. C. (1990). "Tiling with polyominoes and combinatorial group theory". Journal of Combinatorial Theory, Series A. 53 (2): 183. doi:10.1016/0097-3165(90)90057-4.
↑ 10.010.1"CONWAY, Prof. John Horton". Who's Who 2014, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2014; online edn, Oxford University Press.(subscription required)
↑Gardner, Martin (October 1970). "Mathematical Games: The fantastic combinations of John Conway's new solitaire game "Life"". Scientific American. Vol. 223. pp. 120–123.
↑MacTutor History: The game made Conway instantly famous, but it also opened up a whole new field of mathematical research, the field of cellular automata.