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Coding as Critical Thinking

Portrait of Luca Bianchini, looking directly at the viewer.
Researcher ID: 0009-0003-4067-9222

Software isn’t magic. It’s skepticism, logic,

and the art of asking “What if everyone’s wrong?”

“From manuscript margins to memory addresses—every detail counts.”

Luca Bianchini

Toolbox & Techniques

You can’t debug history with a single tool. My workflow jumps from microscope to terminal, from dusty handbooks to homegrown code. Doubt demands a diverse arsenal.

  • C++/Qt: Desktop apps for OCR, image processing, and forensic analysis.
  • Python & JavaScript: Quick scripts for wrangling messy data and exposing hidden patterns.
  • Sibelius Plugins & MusicXML: Hacking the musical score—because manuscripts aren’t just for looking at.
  • Data Visualization: If you can’t see the lie, you’ll probably believe it.
  • Classic Paleography: When machine learning gets cocky, the old ways still win.
Every tool has a bias. That’s why I use more than one—and trust none of them blindly.
A composite image: microscope, code editor, musical score, and handwritten notes
A digital comparison: code window and 18th-century manuscript, connected by digital overlays
When ink meets code: two worlds, one mystery to solve.

From Manuscript to Machine

You can’t spot a forgery with a hunch. Sometimes you need a for-loop, sometimes a microscope. Here’s how my code gets its hands dirty:

  • Signature Verification: Matching digital ductus data with historic samples, pixel by pixel. Spoiler: the hand never lies, but forgers always try.
  • Ink & Pressure Mapping: Turning grayscale stains into color-coded “confession maps.” When the pen pressed too hard, the story changed.
  • OCR for Old Scripts: My code doesn’t just read; it questions. If it’s not convinced, neither am I.
  • Music Score Forensics: Extracting hidden edits from Sibelius and MusicXML. Why do notes move? Because someone moved them.
In my lab, code is innocent until proven useful.

Open Source & Community

Code, like research, thrives on critique. My philosophy? Share early, challenge often, and let the community stress-test every assumption. In the open-source world, there’s no room for ego—only for better code.

  • GitHub repositories: All my main tools are online—use them, fork them, or point out where they break.
  • Community plugins: Scripts for Sibelius, MusicXML, and Qt released for anyone who needs to look behind the musical curtain.
  • Collaborative research: I work with skeptics, coders, and musicologists. The only requirement: doubt everything, especially my code.
The best bugs are the ones you didn’t see coming.
Screenshot of GitHub repository with collaborative comments and code
If you want applause, write music. If you want feedback, write code.
Automating music notation and analysis with custom scripts
Notation isn’t just about notes—sometimes it’s about asking the software “what’s really written here?”

Scripting for Music

Forget copy-paste. True scripting is about discovering patterns, exposing anomalies, and interrogating every note—especially the ones that don’t fit.

  • Sibelius plugins & automation: From batch lyric imports to critical editing tools—if it’s repetitive, I’ve probably scripted it.
  • MusicXML extraction: Analyzing scores across centuries, tracing changes, and catching “creative” interventions.
  • Data-driven insight: Using code to unearth what the human eye misses (and what some would prefer you never found).
Automation isn’t laziness. It’s research—at the speed of curiosity.
Learning and coding with C++, Qt, and music tech
“If you’re not breaking things, you’re not learning fast enough.”

Learning & Tutorials

The best way to spot a forgery? Try to write the real thing yourself. That’s why my lab is open—here you’ll find tutorials, scripts, and walkthroughs for:

  • C++ & Qt for the real world: From “hello world” to “hello, forged signature.”
  • MusicXML and notation scripting: Manipulate the musical genome, not just the notes.
  • Handwriting & OCR playgrounds: Train your eye—and your code—on authentic vs. fake.
No dogmas, no gatekeeping. Only open-source curiosity (and the occasional war story from the code trenches).
Read the Coding Blog Explore Repositories

Join the Coding Rebellion

Got a bug that’s driving you mad? An idea nobody ha ancora avuto il coraggio di testare? Here, every line of code is a question, and every script is an open invitation to doubt, hack, and rethink.

Whether you’re after tutorials, ready to fork a repo, or just want to drop a skeptical comment, you’re officially welcome.
No gatekeepers, just codebreakers.

Contact Me
The only thing more dangerous than bad code is a lack of curiosity.
The future is written in code.
Decorative swirls