Tom Roberts <tjroberts@lucent.com> wrote in message
news:3EE40680.2030801@lucent.com...
> patrick wrote:
> > It is significant in that [Gerber] got a correct formula before
> > GR arrived on the scene ..1898.
>
> Personally, I don't think it is very significant:
>   1. He did not establish a general theory useful for other computations

This is a valid reason to prefer GR's derivation to Gerber's.

>   2. He in no way anticipated GR, he merely got a formula similar to a
>      specific approximation to GR (using completely different reasoning)

It is not "similar" and it is not an "approximation" in any respect.  It is
the EXACT formula.