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who first described it. The method uses the same iterative scheme as the Newton-Raphson method yields when applied to the function , using the fact that its slope at any point is , but predates it by many centuries. The algorithm is to repeat a simple calculation that results in a number closer to the actual square root each time it is repeated with its result as the new input. The motivation is that if is an overestimate to the square root of a nonnegative real number then

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