many thanks for your reply! of course, your reading:
> I think that the Hilbert's point wasn't the Wolfskehl prize marks, but
> the theorems one discover trying to solve Fermat's problem.
is a possible one, but (i) the whole context in which constance reid puts
hilbert's quote makes it clear, that at least she thought the eggs
consisted of "reichsmark" (the then current german currency), and (ii) --
and this is kind of unfair, i know -- as a native speaker i'd say that "a
goose laying golden eggs" is almost always used in german to say that your
have a money machine (and not a theorem prover).
be that as it may, walter felscher notified me, that it should read
"Blumenthal" instead of "Blumenbach"; -- i apologize.
best, bb
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Bernd Buldt
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