CAW 22 Entry: Gaussian Distribution.

“Where are we?”

“Göttingen, it said.”

“Where’s that?”

“I have absolutely no idea.”

“At least it looks like there’s somewhere to stay.” In hindsight, traveling across continental Europe had not been a good idea. The Napoleonic wars were raging around, I just wish my history had been more inclusive, then I might have avoided this. It was 1810 currently and we were somewhere in a German puppet state controlled by Napoleon, Westphalia I think.

We found a suitable lodging house, and while James was arranging the domestic affairs, I took the ladies to dine. I was hoping for something other than the schnitzel, schweinshaxe and wurst we’d been having for the last week, but I was disappointed. At least there was good wine, it was the wrong time of year for beer.

We were chatting somewhat disconsolately, the latest turn of events had not put us in a good mood, when some one behind me said “Guten abend herr doctor Gauss.” Then it struck me why Göttingen sounded so familiar, it was where Gauss worked. Carl Friedrich Gauss, a god in the pantheon of mathematicians, he’d probably be remembered as the finest mathematician since Newton, if Einstein hadn’t stuck his oar in. He’d been in the news a few times these past few years I’d been in the nineteenth Century, they would of course mention his affiliation to the university in such articles.

I whispered to Maria, “I think that maybe Gauss, you know Ceres and all that.” One of his recent headlines was to do with the rediscovery of Ceres, Ceres was the first, asteroid discovered. No one yet knew much about asteroids, even that Ceres was the largest, only four had been discovered to the current date. Gauss’ work had allowed Ceres to be rediscovered after it had been somewhat carelessly lost. Maria’s eyes widened at that, she had a thirst for knowledge and would dearly love to learn from the source. I’d provided some perspective not available to people currently. I knew what Gauss’ stature would be in history.

I couldn’t pass up an opportunity like this, even if I should have been more wary of making waves temporally speaking. Meddling in the past is fraught with danger when you’re from the future. I rose and turned to the gentleman seated alone behind me, he had a sad countenance, I could sympathize, he had also recently lost his wife. I summon up my best German to say “Do I have the honor of addressing Carl Friedrich Gauss, the eminent Mathematician?”

Given my sketchy accent, I knew Dutch, not Deutsch, I must have sounded like I’d just fallen off of a hay lorry. He looked at me, unimpressed, wishing I should disappear I guessed. He reply was somewhat unexpected, “What is the meaning of e raised to the i pi power?”

A Mathematical test perhaps, I did my best to answer it. “Imaginary powers of e oscillate sinusoidally in the complex plain, luckily the imaginary parts cancel out on the real axis, and the factor of pi causes a rotation through 180 degrees causing the result to be minus one.” At least that’s what I wanted to say, I tried it in German, somewhat haltingly, a few words came out in English because I had no idea of the right German one.

His demeanor brightened somewhat at my answer. “You are English?” He asked that in slightly accented English.

“Yes, I’m sorry for my poor German.”

“I found your answer to that question to be quite interesting, we should discuss it. Yes, I am Carl Friedrich Gauss.”

“Stephen Charles Somers, at your service, would you care to join me, and my companions,” I indicated, Maria, Louisa and Hanna sitting at my table, “We would all be honored to entertain you.” He indicated that he would and joined us at our table, sitting between me and Maria.

He stole a quick glance at Maria’s bountiful bosom before ignoring her and turning to me. Maria spoke to him anyway, “It is a great honor to meet you Doctor Gauss, I followed you work with Ceres with great interest. Though I am sorry I can not match Stephen’s abilities with complex identities, I am aware of Euler’s Identity, though I would struggle to derive it.”

Euler’s Identity was the name of the little Mathematical puzzle Gauss opened with.