It didn't seem like nonsense to me. (Recently graduated undergrad with a math degree; probably could have gone to PhD). It seemed like the AI was cycling through a bunch of different possible approaches to tackle the problem. Eventually it finds one and makes more progress there until it reaches the solution
I've pursued a similar strategy via CDs found in resale shops. I've gotten a good collection going, but there's a very specific selection of CDs popular enough for people to buy but not so good that they kept it.