[keithalewis]

His motto was "Few, but ripe." I'm sure he had no conception of throwing compute power against the wall and see what sticks.

[mmmmmmmike]

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.

[ykonstant]

>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.