eli5: How were square roots calculated in the first place, before calculators?
In: Mathematics
Before calculators there were books of these mathematical functions like square roots, logarithms, antilogarithm, trigonometric functions, powers of e, etc.
Was in high school in late 1970s and used these. Godfrey and Siddons ‘Four Figure Tables’. The math teacher had an electronic calculator the size of a house brick and he would show it off.
Latest Answers