Stephen Wolfram

SEPTEMBER 29, 2023

Since the standard Wolfram Language evaluator evaluates arguments first (“leftmost-innermost evaluation”), it therefore won’t terminate in this case—even though there are branches in the multiway evaluation (corresponding to “outermost evaluation”) that do terminate. As the Version 1.0

Physics 108

Physics Computer Argumentation Construction 108

Stephen Wolfram

MARCH 5, 2024

But the computer let me discover just by systematic enumeration the 2-state, 3-color machine that in 2007 was proved universal (and, yes, it’s the simplest possible universal Turing machine). In 2000 I was interested in what the simplest possible axiom system for logic (Boolean algebra) might be.

Science 122

Science Sciences Computer Mathematics 122

Stephen Wolfram

AUGUST 22, 2023

In 2015 Ed told me a nice story about his time at Caltech: In 1952–53, I was a student in Linus Pauling’s class where he lectured Freshman Chemistry at Caltech. “Lick” Licklider —who persuaded Ed to join BBN to “teach them about computers”. Then McCarthy started to explain ways a computer could do algebra.

Computer 68

Computer Physics Science Sciences 68

Stephen Wolfram

SEPTEMBER 9, 2021

At the level of individual events, ideas from the theory and practice of computation are useful. Events are like functions, whose “arguments” are incoming tokens, and whose output is one or more outgoing tokens. Chemistry / Molecular Biology. Perhaps not for chemistry as it’s done today. Does this matter, though?

Physics 65

Physics Science Sciences Mathematics 65

Stephen Wolfram

SEPTEMBER 9, 2021

At the level of individual events, ideas from the theory and practice of computation are useful. Events are like functions, whose “arguments” are incoming tokens, and whose output is one or more outgoing tokens. Chemistry / Molecular Biology. Perhaps not for chemistry as it’s done today. Does this matter, though?

Science 64

Science Sciences Physics Mathematics 64