Non-PD - Re: TESSERACT

[Roger Buxton <rbuxton@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hans van der Genugten wrote:

> (What is TESSERACT?)

The word is evidently derived from the Latin 'tessera' (which later
became 'tessella'), which was a small rectangular piece of wood or stone
used for making mosaic patterns. The word has become adapted more
recently into the verb 'tessellate', meaning to 'divide a surface into
repeating regular shapes' (without any gaps). A branch of mathematics
has evolved to deal with this issue where, of course, one is not limited
to merely two or three dimensions.

One of the most imaginative and successful practioners of the art of
tessellation in recent times was your own countryman Maurits Escher. His
beautiful illustrations of interlocking fish, birds, dogs, horsemen, and
other assorted shapes continue to amaze and delight the world. L'emgle's
idea (as reported by Hilary Blue) is another manifestation of a fertile
imagination born of geometry.

Roger Buxton