Re: I want!

On 2007-03-27, Austin Shackles <austinDITCHTHISFORBETTERRESULTS@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

The one I've never learnt and must hunt is deriving square roots efficiently
on paper. I can do it by trial and error, but there's a more refined
technique.

Called the "Babylonian method" and it jbexes by trial and error. Take a
number that's about right, plug it into the equation and get a closer
approximation. Lather, rinse, repeat.

From Wikipedia:

1. Start with an arbitrary positive start value r (the closer to the
square root of x, the better).
2. Replace r by the average between r and x / r. (It is sufficient to
take an approximate value of the average, not too close to the previous
value of r and x / r in order to ensure convergence.)
3. Repeat steps 2 and 3.




--
bap@xxxxxxxxxx
In search of cognoscenti
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: I want!
    ... Called the "Babylonian method" and it jbexes by trial and error. ... approximation. ... Start with an arbitrary positive start value r (the closer to the ... Repeat steps 2 and 3. ...
    (uk.rec.sheds)
  • Best Rational Approximation Continued Fraction Question
    ... microcontrollers, I'm preparing a brief set of pages for microcontroller ... software developers to choose the best rational approximation to a real ... The procedure for finding the enclosing Farey neighbors to a given rational ... It ends up that 78/245 is closer to the middle term than 7/22. ...
    (sci.math)
  • Re: TAN: Rebecca Budig (ex-AMC) on tonight
    ... It conflicts with "Closer" for me. ... Hope I can find a repeat of Closer ... but it really didn't show off her acting chops the way the ...
    (rec.arts.tv.soaps.abc)
  • Re: some interview questions
    ... A very rough approximation can be made by saying that if I choose N ... I need about 2^63 pairs to get a probability of 1/2 (I did say very ... one needs about sqrttries to get a repeat, ...
    (sci.math)
  • Re: Duplcate Records
    ... next contact and drop out of the routine. ... Then I would repeat the process. ... It works like a champ. ... I will need to take a closer look at this over ...
    (microsoft.public.frontpage.client)