Remove Biology Remove Calculus Remove Mathematics Remove Transportation
article thumbnail

How Did We Get Here? The Tangled History of the Second Law of Thermodynamics

Stephen Wolfram

But by the end of the 1800s, with the existence of molecules increasingly firmly established, the Second Law began to often be treated as an almost-mathematically-proven necessary law of physics. There were still mathematical loose ends, as well as issues such as its application to living systems and to systems involving gravity.

Energy 88
article thumbnail

Even beyond Physics: Introducing Multicomputation as a Fourth General Paradigm for Theoretical Science

Stephen Wolfram

Many would say that modern exact science was launched in the 1600s with the introduction of what we can call the “ mathematical paradigm ”: the idea that things in the world can be described by mathematical equations—and that their behavior can be determined by finding solutions to these equations.

Physics 65
educators

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

Multicomputation: A Fourth Paradigm for Theoretical Science

Stephen Wolfram

Many would say that modern exact science was launched in the 1600s with the introduction of what we can call the “ mathematical paradigm ”: the idea that things in the world can be described by mathematical equations—and that their behavior can be determined by finding solutions to these equations.

Science 64
article thumbnail

The Concept of the Ruliad

Stephen Wolfram

And—it should be said at the outset—we’re still only at the very beginning of nailing down those technical details and setting up the difficult mathematics and formalism they involve.) Mathematically this can be thought of as being like decomposing the ruliad structure in terms of fibrations and foliations.). Experiencing the Ruliad.

Physics 122
article thumbnail

What Is ChatGPT Doing … and Why Does It Work?

Stephen Wolfram

Then we might make a mathematical guess, like that perhaps we should use a straight line as a model: We could pick different straight lines. It’s just something that’s mathematically simple, and we’re used to the fact that lots of data we measure turns out to be well fit by mathematically simple things.

Computer 145
article thumbnail

Remembering the Improbable Life of Ed Fredkin (1934–2023) and His World of Ideas and Stories

Stephen Wolfram

It didn’t help that his knowledge of physics was at best spotty (and, for example, I don’t think he ever really learned calculus). It explains that III has four divisions: Mathematical and Programming Services, Behavioral Science, Operations, and “New York”. It says that “From a one-man operation [in 1962], I.I.I.

article thumbnail

Computational Foundations for the Second Law of Thermodynamics

Stephen Wolfram

How does one tie all this down with rigorous, mathematical-style proofs? Once one has the idea of “equilibrium”, one can then start to think of its properties as purely being functions of certain parameters—and this opens up all sorts of calculus-based mathematical opportunities. Well, it’s difficult.