> "method of trial and error/method of double position" ... my question
> is whether someone on this list has a clue for me concerning
> (i) the history of this method (e.g., its relation to babylonian,
> diophantian etc. regulae falsi) and, especially,
> (ii) concerning the name for this method
The method is more often referred to as the method of (double) false
position and indexed under 'false position' in most histories of
mathematics. It has a huge history and, among many books, it is the main
subject of the Arabic "Liber Augmenti et Diminutionis" (therein attributed
to the Indians) translated into Latin by Gerard of Cremona and printed in
G Libri Histoire des Sciences Mathe/matiques.... (1865) vol 1, pp 304-368
Bob Berghout, rfb@frey.newcastle.edu.au
Department of Mathematics, University of Newcastle 2308
Australia
Ph: (+61 2) 4921 5546 FAX: (+61 2) 4921 6898