I Knew About Gravity. But I Hadn't Thought About the Equation Behind It This Way

I didn't "learn" about gravity recently. Like everyone else, I've known the basic idea for years. Objects fall, masses attract each other, and names like Newton or Einstein are so familiar that the subject feels almost "closed" in my mind. But lately, I've started looking at gravity not as something I already understood, but probably as something I've oversimplified for a long time, especially when I try to relate the intuitive idea to the actual equations behind it. The most basic expression of gravity is Newton's law: F = G * (m₁m₂ / r²) I've seen this formula many times before, used it in problems, accepted it as a rule, and moved on. But I realized I never asked myself what this equation actually tells me about reality. Not how to calculate it, but why it has exactly this structure. Why does the force decrease with the square of the distance? Why isn't it linear? Why isn't it something else entirely? At first glance, it seems arbitrary, something discovered and then accepted, but a