Look, there's more to say about Conway's Look-and-say sequence

Dr. Gregory Dresden, February 19, 2007

Abstract:   We start with a simple game: write down some numbers (like 1,2,2,3) and then write down the description. In this case, the description would be: one 1, two 2's, and one 3, or in more compact terms, 1,1,2,2,1,3. Now, repeat. What do we end up with? What if we do this in base-2 or base-3? What are some possible variations? This topic was first covered in depth by John Conway, but we have some new results to announce.


Biographical sketch:  Gregory Dresden has been at Washington & Lee University for ten years. Before that, he received his PhD from the University of Texas, his master's from the University of Wisconsin, and his undergraduate degree from Stanford University. He studies number theory, algebra, and financial mathematics, and occasionally thinks about hiking the Appalachian Trail, but will probably never actually do it.