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Why would he do that, though? I do think it's neat, but I think most people would just memorize an algorithm instead. Were any memory tricks involved (e.g. peg
by tpeo 9y ago
Why would he do that, though? I do think it's neat, but I think most people would just memorize an algorithm instead.
Were any memory tricks involved (e.g. pegs, palaces) or did he just go through a table of square roots every morning?
- Retric 9y agoI assume because he regularly worked with formulas involving squares and square roots. This is a guy who did long division in his head on long car rides to stay awake. He also memorized the square and cube of every number from 1 to 100. His justification for starting was trying to keep track of the order of magnitude of everything he calculated to catch fat finger mistakes. And a sanity check. However, you need a few digits on the front of a number before you can really safely keep track of exponents that way.
- jacobolus 9y agoMemorizing a log table is a heck of a lot better bang for the buck than memorizing square roots, cube roots, etc.