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A comment on The Connection That Changed Number Theory. Parent comment

Re:The Connection That Changed Number Theory by keithalewis on Saturday November 04, 2023 @08:23PM (#38146675)
His motto was "Few, but ripe." I'm sure he had no conception of throwing compute power against the wall and see what sticks.
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Re:The Connection That Changed Number Theory by mmmmmmmike on Sunday November 05, 2023 @05:10AM (#38149779)
I think that’s more about what he chose to publish. He was known for discovering things and keeping them to himself.

As I understand it, he actually first came to conjecture quadratic reciprocity after doing incredible amounts of calculation by hand and noticing the pattern.

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Re:The Connection That Changed Number Theory by ykonstant on Sunday November 05, 2023 @06:03AM (#38150048)
>he actually first came to conjecture quadratic reciprocity after doing incredible amounts of calculation by hand and noticing the pattern.

Indeed, this was Gauss's method for exploring the mathematical landscape; vast calculations were his "microscope" and "experimental apparatus". He had a passion for computation, which he applied later in his life fully in his astronomy work.

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