How the estimate of 2 on YBC 7289 may have been calculated

Abstract

It remains unknown how the approximation of $\sqrt{2}$ scribed on Babylonian tablet YBC 7289 was calculated. In this article I show how it can be straightforwardly computed using a well-known regular number as the input for the Babylonian method of estimating square roots. My objective is to demonstrate that Babylonian mathematics was sufficiently evolved for the approximation to be easily derived and thus propose an approach that may have been used to calculate it.