The mathematical mystery inside the shooter Quake 3

(scientificamerican.com)

2 points | by emmelaich 10 hours ago ago

2 comments

  • emmelaich 10 hours ago ago
  • dekhn 10 hours ago ago

    "If I asked you to calculate the inverse square root of 26 without a calculator, you’d probably be stuck for a while—and honestly, so would I."

    Um, 5*2 is 25 and 6*2 is 36 so we know the square root of 26 is between thos two and likely a lot closer to 5.1.

    And 1/5 = 0.2. The correct answer is .196 plus a few irrelevant digits.