Gauss publishes Theoria combinationis observationum as a least-squares treatise

In 1823 Gauss published Theoria combinationis observationum erroribus minimis obnoxiae, a systematic treatment of combining observations by least squares, years after he had used the method on Ceres and after Legendre’s 1805 memoir. He wrote the theory; computers could copy the normal equations. The row stores one memoir. Priority harshness toward Legendre is a separate polarization path.

Context

Error combination is a public-data problem: many measurements, one number, a rule that others can audit. 1823 is the full Gauss treatise on that rule. Geodesy supplied the shop examples; the fiscal map of Hanover is still another row. A later classroom ‘normal curve’ is not this 1823 Latin title, and Legendre’s 1805 print remains another author’s instrument.

Shared responsibility is part of Gauss publishes Theoria combinationis observationum as a least-squares treatise. Naming Carl Friedrich Gauss does not delete co-authors, institutions, or later transmitters. The lag from 1823-01-01 to any measured indicator is not treated as zero. Alternative explanations — weather, other armies, later statutes, or independent cultural change — remain live where the sources do not close them.

Why it matters

Improving data path: a copyable error rule. High confidence on 1823. Modest weight. Later ‘Gaussian distribution’ pedagogy is not this Latin title. The 1809 book remains a different instrument. Priority letters remain a different sign.