The human capacity for innovation and creativity it often manifests itself in young, prodigious minds, capable of challenging established concepts and creating innovative solutions.
In this way, the story of Júlia, a talented young Brazilian girl aged just 11, gains prominence by presenting a notable achievement: the creation of a new method for calculating square roots.
His exceptional genius and skill not only surprise but also question the conventional limits of mathematics.
This demonstrates how a child’s curious and creative mind can generate significant contributions to the scientific field.
Young man creates his own calculation method
Image: Jornal Nacional/Rede Globo
A young girl from Minas Gerais, Júlia Helena Pimenta Ferreira, left her mark in the world of mathematics by creating an innovative method for calculating square roots.
His teacher, Frederico Ferreira de Pinho Tavares, transformed the reasoning of Júlia in a formula called ‘Júlia’s Regression’, now recognized in an important scientific journal.
It all started with Júlia’s curiosity in 2022, a factor that pushed her to create her own calculation method that challenges already well-established mathematical conventions.
Thus, ‘Júlia’s Regression’ emerged, which simplifies the calculation of square roots while making it accessible and practical for students.
A formula is based on a simple process of sequential multiplication and addition, revealing the square root at the end of the calculation.
In turn, the professor recognized the uniqueness of this approach and submitted the discovery to the Mathematics Professor’s Magazine.
The calculation method developed by Júlia, as we said, is a simple and innovative approach to finding the square root of a number.
How does ‘Julia’s Regression’ work?
Below, see a detailed step-by-step process.
- Choosing a number close to the square root: To calculate the square root of a number, such as the square root of 144, you start by choosing a number close to that root, for example 10.
- Multiplication and successive addition: multiply the chosen number by itself (10 x 10 = 100). Then, the chosen number (10) is added to the next number (11), resulting in 100 + 10 + 11 = 121. This result is close to the real value of the square root.
- Repetition of the process: the next step is to add the previous result (121) to the last number used (11) plus its successor (12), arriving at 121 + 11 + 12 = 144, which is the number you started with.
- Square Root Identification: The last number added in the calculation is the approximate square root. So in this case, the square root of 144 is 12.
Image: Jornal Nacional/Rede Globo