Golygons, self-enumerating sentences, and geomagic squares represent the primary contributions Lee Cecil Fletcher Sallows brought to the field of recreational mathematics. Born on 30 April 1944 at Brocket Hall in Hertfordshire, Sallows developed a professional career as an electronics engineer while simultaneously establishing a significant research output in complex mathematical structures and geometric theory.
Early life and technical career
Raised in the Upper Clapton district of northeast London, Sallows attended Dame Alice Owen's School in Islington. He departed the institution at age 17 without securing formal diplomas. His subsequent technical proficiency originated from a personal interest in short-wave radio, which facilitated entry into the electronics industry. In 1970, he relocated to Nijmegen in the Netherlands, eventually serving as an electronic engineer at Radboud University until his retirement in 2009. He has resided with his partner, cardiologist Evert Lamfers, since 1975.
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Sallows gained recognition for several original concepts within recreational mathematics. He defined golygons as polygons composed of right angles with consecutive integer side lengths, a concept introduced via Scientific American in 1990. His expertise extends to magic squares, where he developed variants including alphamagic and geomagic squares. His 2012 research introduced self-tiling tile sets as a generalization of rep-tiles. His work on geomagic squares received scholarly attention from mathematician Peter Cameron, who identified potential for further structural discovery.
The Lost Theorem and geometric proofs
In 1997, Sallows published "The Lost Theorem," which identified a link between 3x3 magic squares and parallelograms within the complex plane. This observation provided a perspective that had remained absent from historical mathematical study. Furthermore, he discovered a geometric method in 2014 using medians to divide any triangle into three congruent triangles. This process allows for iterative subdivision, resulting in triangles similar to the original with one-ninth of the initial surface area.
Fast facts
- Born: 30 April 1944, Brocket Hall, Hertfordshire
- Citizenship: United Kingdom
- Education: Dame Alice Owen's School
- Career: Electronic Engineer, Radboud University
- Primary Field: Recreational mathematics
- Partner: Evert Lamfers
Questions readers ask
What is a golygon?
A golygon is a polygon featuring only right angles where each adjacent side length follows a sequence of consecutive integers.
What did Lee Sallows discover about triangles in 2014?
He found a method to divide any triangle into three congruent smaller triangles using their medians.
Achievements
- Fields: recreational mathematics
