St. Cuthberts

You get this view if you divert your eyes from the castle or the tarmac when you're taking the short cut from Lothian Rd. to Princes St. through St. Cuthbert's churchyard.

John Napier's buried in the yard, somewhere. He invented logarithms, amongst other ingenious feats. But that's certainly my favourite.

Colin MacLaurin, another eminent Scottish mathematician, is buried in Greyfriars. Adv. Higher Maths students learn about some of his work, which allows you evaluate things you otherwise couldn't really touch. The sad part of maths at school is they make the method to this apparent, but not the importance of the idea or it's logical roots, which are glossed over because they're not examinable or applicable, but make the topic and subject as a whole more rewarding and also easier in the long run.

MacLaurin became a professor at 19, and Newton himself recommended him to be appointed chair at Edinburgh (which he got...). He also helped fortify the city walls against the Jacobites. Quite a life.