HackerTube.dev

Does John Conway hate his Game of Life?

Numberphile · 1M views · 2014-03-03 · 6:54

Open on YouTube ↗

If playback is restricted in your region, try opening the original video. Use Mark watched to add it to your marked videos.

Overview

John Conway talks in a short Numberphile interview about his mixed feelings toward the Game of Life, his most famous invention. He says he is not especially pleased that it overshadowed his other work.

On Hacker News

Cited whenever commenters want to note that Conway did not enjoy being known mainly for the Game of Life.

Recommended by 1 HN people across 1 months · HN mentions 2015–2024

Topics

Search by tags

What people said

tdicola · 2015-07 · Recommendation

Numberphile, an awesome youtube channel on its own, has done some great interviews with John Conway that are definitely worth watching: [LINK] , [VIDEO] , [LINK] He really comes across as a genuinely great guy.

Read the original HN comment ↗
cauliflower99 · 2024-04 · Reference

Conway has said GOL is not something he is particularly pleased got as famous as it did. (Ref: [LINK] ) Why do you think that is? Edit: This is the video I meant: [VIDEO]

Read the original HN comment ↗
jodrellblank · 2021-12 · Reference

One that Conway didn't like much, saying (roughly) that it had all been explored and proved and other work of his was more interesting - [VIDEO] in this Numberphile interview with him.

Read the original HN comment ↗

Sources

Video by Numberphile, played through YouTube.

Data and selection notes

HN summaries and labels may contain AI errors. HN dates refer to discussions, not video publication.

HN Library: HackerTube export (2026-10-31) and open-index/hacker-news. Upstream summaries and classifications may contain AI errors.

Views, duration and playback status refresh separately from the published catalog. When an update fails, existing data remains visible.

Selection checks
  • SaaS & AI candidates: Topic keywords do not match
  • Editor-approved picks: Editorial review is required

Rule matches identify candidates. They do not guarantee video quality or financial results.

About the library and its sources