Tag Archives: square root

Square roots with pencil and paper: method 2

Posted on June 11, 2009 by Brent

A little while ago I wrote about the Babylonian method for approximating square roots with pencil and paper. In that post I noted that the Babylonian method is quite efficient, but annoying in some ways since it makes you deal … Continue reading →

Posted in algebra, computation | Tagged , | 8 Comments

Square roots with pencil and paper: the Babylonian method

Posted on May 18, 2009 by Brent

Everyone knows how to add, subtract, multiply and divide with pencil and paper; but do you know how to find square roots without a calculator? (Incidentally, I highly recommend reading The Feeling of Power by Isaac Asimov, a short story … Continue reading →

Posted in algebra, computation, convergence, iteration, number theory | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments