(I have read through the various similar questions on SE listed by the system but not found an answer that helps).
Is there an intuitive explanation for why the Riemann zeta Function (rather than hypothesis) contains interesting information about the distribution of primes in language comprehensible to a non-mathematician?
Related questions might be...
What does a non-trivial zero indicate in respect of the distribution of primes? What do we learn from a zero when we find one?
I'm not sure, but it might also be same question if I ask how the input to the zeta function is related the output, or how the input value relates to locations on the number line.
But I'm muddled, as you can tell, so the related questions may be a red-herring. It's mainly the first question that I'm trying to answer.
Many thanks for your patience. Imagine I'm twelve years old and not Gauss.