Dik T. Winter said:

> In article <RYydnTSksuDDjYHanZ2dnUVZ8sOonZ2d@bt.com> rjh@see.sig.invalid
> writes:
> > Dik T. Winter said:
> >
> > > In article <Wr2dnQuAkstHkIranZ2dneKdnZydnZ2d@bt.com>
> > > rjh@see.sig.invalid writes: ...
> > > > It may the OP to recognise that the question, as asked (i.e.
> > > > in the absence of big-O notation, which IMHO would in any case
> > > > make the question meaningless), is looking for the integer value
> > > > of n that is just higher than the real value that is the solution
> > > > to the following equation:
> > > >
> > > > 2 to the power n = 100 * n * n
> > > >
> > > > This is a simple mathematical exercise.
> > >
> > > Finding the real value is not exactly a simple mathematical
> > > exercise.
> >
> > It isn't? Using a simple iterative technique, I found the answer in
> > nothing flat (actually about 3 milliseconds), getting agreement in 2^n
> > and 100n^2 to ten decimal places. Given that we only *need* it to one
> > decimal place, I'd have thought that was an adequate solution.
> >
> > I suspect we are using different definitions of "mathematical". :-)
>
> No. The difference is between finding a value and finding an
> approximation to a value.

Fine. Bear in mind, however, that the final value in my original discussion
was an integer value, and it can of course be determined precisely.

--
Richard Heathfield <http://www.cpax.org.uk>
Email: -http://www. +rjh@
Google users: <http://www.cpax.org.uk/prg/writings/googly.php>
"Usenet is a strange place" - dmr 29 July 1999