Project Euler Forum

Let Pim... stew in his own juice.

Sometimes explicit is better than implicit!

pim.mfs.0 wrote: Sun Oct 05, 2025 9:23 pm Sometimes explicit is better than implicit!

Are you happy the problem was spoiled?
I was just arguing with you, and then the latest problem was spoiled. Are you saying it had nothing to do with you? Is that such a coincidence? The answer has never been released so early.

to the spoiler: ( I know you are watching)

This is so tragic. They were forced to shut down the leaderboard before there even had no 10 solvers. Do you think this hurts me? You're only hurting other innocent people. currently I'm not solving problems anymore.

My personal preference as of recently is to adhere to the Project Euler Team's request of not spoiling problems. It is a coincidence that the latest problem was spoiled. How was the spoil detected so fast? I thought Lucky Bai agreed to not post answers until 50 solvers have solved the problem. If it is not Lucky Bai, then who is going out of their way to spoil Project Euler problems?

pim.mfs.0 wrote: Sun Oct 05, 2025 10:13 pm My personal preference as of recently is to adhere to the Project Euler Team's request of not spoiling problems. It is a coincidence that the latest problem was spoiled. How was the spoil detected so fast? I thought Lucky Bai agreed to not post answers until 50 solvers have solved the problem. If it is not Lucky Bai, then who is going out of their way to spoil Project Euler problems?

There's something called "issues" on GitHub, but I won't elaborate on it.

djflutt, this is a GitHub account which was registered on September 15th of this year. Apparently, he uses a different name from the one he uses for ProjectEuler, to avoid investigation.

Disgusting, filthy person, even doing bad things has to be sneaky.

To sum it all up, something like this on the Project Euler landing page or about page would be nice.

These two points are already there.

=> The problems range in difficulty and for many the experience is inductive chain learning. That is, by solving one problem it will expose you to a new concept that may allow you to undertake a previously inaccessible problem. So determined participants will be able to slowly but surely work their way through the problems.

=> However, as the problems are challenging, you may wish to view the Problems before registering.

Would it be so hard to just add that,

=> Please do not be discouraged if you can solve only a subset of the Project Euler problems. The first hundred problems are open book, solving the first hundred problems and also working through an elementary number theory textbook like David M. Burton's 7th edition should allow you to discover the subset of Project Euler problems you can solve on your own and enjoy. All the best on your Project Euler problem solving journey.

pim.mfs.0 wrote: Sun Sep 07, 2025 3:06 pm
At some point in the past Project Euler landing page used the term "inductive chain learning" i.e. solving problems 1 through n should in theory prepare you to solve the problem (n + 1). That statement was not true then, and now, the term "inductive chain learning" does not even appear in the Project Euler About page. What appears now is: "Project Euler exists to encourage, **challenge**, and develop the skills and enjoyment of anyone with an interest in the fascinating world of mathematics." This has always been true, if you enjoy a challenge and are willing to struggle for the "A-ha" moment then yes Project Euler is definitely for you! If you are the persevering kind: good for you, all the best!

Yes, I distinctly remember the About page used to say something unrealistic like "by going through previous problems and learning, anyone with determination can get through every single problem". At some point you need to have more background math training, which you might learn from previous problem threads, but that is a very unreliable way to learn. It's good now the front page doesn't include an overly optimistic statement like that.