Algorithmic Doomsday

  John Horton Conway passed away from COVID-19 this year. I was able to attend an online memorial organized by BAAM and the Gathering for Gardner group.  The event was well-attended as many wanted to give their final respects to Conway . The online memorial was the only safe way for many to gather during a pandemic. There were many luminaries in attendance including Donald Knuth and Sir Roger Penrose.  Penrose would later win the Nobel Prize in Physics that year. Thanks to  Bob Hearn, Nancy Blachman, Scott Vorthmann, Frank Farris , and Stacy Speyer for organizing this virtual event! My first encounter with Conway was on July 28, 1993 during the Fermat Fest in San Francisco. This event was held at the Exploratorium to celebrate (prematurely) Andrew Wiles' proof of Fermat's last theorem. Conway was among the distinguished group of mathematicians who presented during this event.  Fermat Fest 1993 tickets Fermat Fest 1993 at the Exploratorium Fermat Fest programme

  Professor Matt Baker of Georgia Tech wrote an interesting blog article on mental mathematics. It is well worth reading! Prof. Matt Baker's blog article

My desk calendar displaying October 2020 List of parts 31 Technic treads (Bricklink #57518) 2 Technic small wheel sprockets (Bricklink #57520) 12 gray 2x12 plates 12 2x4 plates 30 2x2 plate with bottom pin 15 gray 1x5 thin beams 92 white 2x2 tiles 2 axles 2 round 2x2 brick with grille  2 bent liftarms 2 L-shaped liftarms 3 1x3 thin beams 3 L-bracket 2x2  3 modified 1x2 x 2/3 brick with studs on side  3 2x2 plate with pin hole 3 gray 2x3 plates 3 2x4 plates 3 2x6 plates 6 1x2 jumper plates 3 2x2 plates 6 1x2 plates 4 regular-size bushing 2 straight axle connector 1 1x15 beam 5 1x5 beams 6 1x7 beams 4 1x13 beams 2 1x11 beams plus many miscellaneous peg connectors