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New answer as I was way-off.
Bruce Westbury
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Thanks to Pete for the link on what the question means. I was misled by the other responses.

Here are two thoughts:

i. What is the square root of 14? Well, it's between 3 and 4. Then we can do better by taking the average of 3 and 14/3. Then we can repeat this and do even better.

ii. Take the Fibonnaci sequence 1,1,2,3,5,8,13,... Take ratios of successive terms 1/1,1/2,2/3,3/5,5/8,8/13,... then these are approximations to the "golden ratio".

A personal anecdote: My daughter is 11 yrs old, bright and interested in maths. I tried i. on her and drew a blank look. I conclude from this that either it is a mistake to teach your own children or that she was not ready for this.

Bruce Westbury
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