On Conway's recursive sequence (Q1917497)

The paper studies the Conway-Mallows sequence which is defined by the recurrence \(a(n)= a(a(n- 1))+ a(n- a(n- 1))\), \(a_1= a_2= 1\). The paper introduces a compression operation on finite sets, from which most known properties of this famous sequence can be read off. This is the first combinatorial insight toward understanding the Conway-Mallows sequence and its generalizations. The order of finite sets of natural numbers introduced in Section 8.1 has been used before to establish a bijection between set partitions and certain trees, see \textit{P. L. Erdös} and the reviewer [Adv. Appl. Math. 10, No. 4, 488-496 (1989; Zbl 0723.05046)]. This fact may reveal further connections.