Willem Abraham Wythoff
Encyclopedia
Willem Abraham Wythoff was a Dutch
mathematician and number theorist
. Wythoff is well-known for his study of a combinatorial game
referred to as Wythoff's game
and for the Wythoff construction
and the Wythoff symbol
utilised in this tiling
construction.
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
mathematician and number theorist
Number theory
Number theory is a branch of pure mathematics devoted primarily to the study of the integers. Number theorists study prime numbers as well...
. Wythoff is well-known for his study of a combinatorial game
Combinatorial game theory
Combinatorial game theory is a branch of applied mathematics and theoretical computer science that studies sequential games with perfect information, that is, two-player games which have a position in which the players take turns changing in defined ways or moves to achieve a defined winning...
referred to as Wythoff's game
Wythoff's game
Wythoff's game is a two-player mathematical game of strategy, played with two piles of counters. Players take turns removing counters from one or both piles; in the latter case, the numbers of counters removed from each pile must be equal...
and for the Wythoff construction
Wythoff construction
In geometry, a Wythoff construction, named after mathematician Willem Abraham Wythoff, is a method for constructing a uniform polyhedron or plane tiling. It is often referred to as Wythoff's kaleidoscopic construction.- Construction process :...
and the Wythoff symbol
Wythoff symbol
In geometry, the Wythoff symbol was first used by Coxeter, Longeut-Higgens and Miller in their enumeration of the uniform polyhedra. It represents a construction by way of Wythoff's construction applied to Schwarz triangles....
utilised in this tiling
Tessellation
A tessellation or tiling of the plane is a pattern of plane figures that fills the plane with no overlaps and no gaps. One may also speak of tessellations of parts of the plane or of other surfaces. Generalizations to higher dimensions are also possible. Tessellations frequently appeared in the art...
construction.