Kieran said:
Greater than the Geeks?
I mean, the Greeks!
Well, the Greeks were good but not great. One of the important reasons for
the GOAT status of Gauss is the era in which he worked. That was the period
after Newton and Leibinitz have invented
Calculus
and so was a hectic period
of activity with lots of discoveries happening. From the year minus infinity to
around 1650, there was no calculus an important tool for mathematical
advancement. Once Calculus was invented, it opened a flood gate of
discovery/invention in Mathematics and its applications to Physics and
Engineering.
This is much like the Graphite Racquets coming into scene around
mid 1980s and revolutionizing the way Tennis was played.