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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. The theory of heat will hereafter form one of the most important branches of general physics. physics) in Glasgow—began to be curious about.

Energy 88
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Remembering the Improbable Life of Ed Fredkin (1934–2023) and His World of Ideas and Stories

Stephen Wolfram

Indeed, so confident was he of his programming prowess that he became convinced that he should in effect be able to write a program for the universe—and make all of physics into a programming problem. 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).

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Charting a Course for “Complexity”: Metamodeling, Ruliology and More

Stephen Wolfram

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. Cryptography.

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Delve Talks: Winnie Karanja, Maydm

Maydm

As a high school student, Winnie had a passion for both math and the social sciences. Her teachers pushed her into the “easier” path of social sciences rather than encourage her interest in STEM subjects. And throughout my sort of high school experience, I’d been, you know, passionate about social sciences.

STEM 52