Stephen Wolfram

SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

This is the first of a series of pieces I’m planning in connection with the upcoming 20th anniversary of the publication of A New Kind of Science. “There’s a Whole New Field to Build…” For me the story began nearly 50 years ago —with what I saw as a great and fundamental mystery of science. From mathematics.

Computer 55

Computer Mathematics Science Sciences 55

Stephen Wolfram

SEPTEMBER 9, 2021

But what I’ve increasingly been realizing is that actually it’s showing us something even bigger and deeper: a whole fundamentally new paradigm for making models and in general for doing theoretical science. Part of what this achieves is to generalize beyond traditional mathematics the kind of constructs that can appear in models.

Science 65

Science Sciences Physics Mathematics 65

Stephen Wolfram

JANUARY 9, 2024

And in the past few months we’ve been steadily adding connections to the full range of popular LLMs, making Wolfram Language a unique hub not only for LLM usage, but also for studying the performance—and science—of LLMs. So did that mean we were “finished” with calculus? And in Version 14 there are significant advances around calculus.

Computer 103

Computer Calculus Construction Accessibility 103

Stephen Wolfram

SEPTEMBER 9, 2021

But what I’ve increasingly been realizing is that actually it’s showing us something even bigger and deeper: a whole fundamentally new paradigm for making models and in general for doing theoretical science. Part of what this achieves is to generalize beyond traditional mathematics the kind of constructs that can appear in models.

Physics 64

Physics Science Sciences Mathematics 64

Stephen Wolfram

JANUARY 31, 2023

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

Energy Physics Argumentation Mathematics 88

Futurum

MAY 16, 2023

Because these processes typically take place over very long timescales, we have to rely on models by expressing these processes as mathematical formulas,” explains Denise. “To Collaboration is one of the best things about science!” Uncovering this relationship involves some sophisticated modelling. she says. “I

Geology 52

Geology Research Research Energy 52

Stephen Wolfram

AUGUST 22, 2023

Ed was someone who wanted to independently figure things out for himself, and delighted in presenting his often somewhat-outlandish conclusions—whether about technology, science, business or the world—with dramatic showman-like panache. I wrote about this in one chapter of my 2002 book A New Kind of Science.

Computer 67

Computer Physics Science Sciences 67

Stephen Wolfram

FEBRUARY 3, 2023

The Second Law of thermodynamics is considered one of the great general principles of physical science. And an important conclusion of a lot of science I did in the 1980s and 1990s is that for many systems—presumably including rule 30—it’s simply not possible to “jump ahead”. Mechanical work irreversibly turns into heat.

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Computer Energy Physics Construction 92

Stephen Wolfram

SEPTEMBER 29, 2023

A different tradition—originating in mathematics in the late 1800s—involved the routine use of “abstract functions” like f ( x ). All sorts of (often ornate) formalism was developed in mathematical logic, with combinators arriving in 1920 , and lambda calculus in 1935.

Physics 108

Physics Computer Argumentation Construction 108