The character associated to a quadratic extension field K of Q, χ : Z −→ C, χ(n) = (disc(K)/n) (Jacobi symbol), is in fact a Dirichlet character; specifically its conductor is |disc(K)|. This fact encodes basic quadratic reciprocity from elementary number theory, phrasing it in terms that presage class field theory. This writeup discusses Hilbert quadratic reciprocity in the same spirit. Let k ...