John Conway (pictured below) is one of my mathematical heroes, along with Martin Gardner and John Nash. Among other things, Conway invented a simple zero-player game called “The Game of Life,” for which he will always be remembered by generations of geeks like me. Sadly, Conway died on April 11 from the coronavirus. Here is a beautiful tribute by my colleague and friend Steven Landsburg.
Any hero of Martin Gardner’s was a hero of mine. I did in fact program my own Game of Life back in the day, on my Atari – Craig