Determination of the Accuracy of the Observations, by C. F. Gauss, Translation with preface

Bestimmung der Genauigkeit der Beobachtungen is the second of the threemajor pieces that Gauss wrote on statistical hypothesis generation. It continues the methodological tradition of eoria Motus, producing estimates by maximizing probability density, however absence of the change-ofvariables theorem causes technical di›culties that compromise its elegance. In eoria Combinationis, Gauss abandoned the aforementioned method, hence placing Bestimmung der Genauigkeit at a crossroads in the evolution of Gauss’s statistical hypothesis generation methodology. e present translation is paired with a preface discussing the piece and its historical context.