The Story with Euler…

Recently, I have been deeply immersed in studying some of Euler’s original works (based on translations where applicable, of course). Here is my conclusion:

Whatever you think you have discovered… Euler may have beaten you to it!

and yes… please quote me for that one!

I made it a necessary condition in my research, and before publishing any manuscript, to check with Euler first. Many of his results and especially the intricate steps of his derivations are lost within the edifices of his collected works (or simply because later generations of mathematicians have superseded his proofs with modern versions). Yet, you will be surprised to find in one of those steps, the exact same thing that you may be currently discovering!

Discussing the Divine Comedy with Dante

Check out this 2006 oil painting by Dai Dudu, Li Tiezi, and Zhang An.

Click on the image to see a larger version with an image map and wiki links for the people featured in the image. There are few inaccuracies in this version, but this version has more accurate data.

An Easy to Use Free IDE for C/C++

I know that you’ve always wondered about what C/C++ compiler and IDE to use under windows. While Microsoft offers its version of the C/C++ compiler, many people still prefer to use the GNU suite of compilers. This, without mentioning the fact that you will need to install visual studio or, if not, manually compile your code, which should be a prehistoric task by now because there are things called IDEs that take care of that.

The other hassle about installing the GCC (GNU C Compiler) under windows, is that you have to first install MingW.

I recently found this excellent and easy to use free IDE that does everything for you. It is called Code::Blocks. This program is very easy to use, intuitive, and installs the GCC compiler and MingW for you.

Voila!