“Wonder Child”
Gauss, who has been called the Prince of Mathematicians, was a “wonder child” of amazing precocity. At the age of three he watched his father making out his wage sheet. “Father, the reckoning is wrong. It should be....” said the child. A check showed that he was right.
Later, when Gauss was admitted to an arithmetic class, the teacher gave the boys, who had never heard of arithmetical progression, a long pro-
blem. The custom of the school was for the boy who first got the answer to lay his slate on the table. The next slate was laid on top, and so on. Just as the teacher finished stating the problem Gauss threw his slate on the tav»le. He sat with his hands folded for an hour while the other boys wrestled with the difficult sum. Then the teacher examined the slates. On Gauss’s there was only one line of figures —but it was the only correct answer in the class.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/WWCUE19451130.2.17
Bibliographic details
Cue (NZERS), Issue 36, 30 November 1945, Page 28
Word Count
164“Wonder Child” Cue (NZERS), Issue 36, 30 November 1945, Page 28
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