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From: AES on 5 Jul 2010 14:43
Anyone who's heard of Wolfram Alpha or "NKS" (or Mathematica), but
hasn't yet read this two-year-old ars technica blog about them

<http://arstechnica.com/software/news/2009/03/stephen-wolfram-and-the-tec
hno-dianetics-of-google-ology.ars>

is likely to be either vastly entertained, or enraged, by it.

"Techno-dianetics?!?!" "The Segway of software?!?!"

(I'll not even try to post this to comp.soft-sys.math.mathematica.)
From: Wes Groleau on 5 Jul 2010 15:16
On 07-05-2010 14:43, AES wrote:
> Anyone who's heard of Wolfram Alpha or "NKS" (or Mathematica), but
> hasn't yet read this two-year-old ars technica blog about them

Alt link: <http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=23621>

Comments on the OP's link, starting with a link back to the article

Wolfram persuades us (or at least tries to) that certain complex
patterns can be generated by a sequence or simple rules.

OK, like that was not obvious?

But then he concludes that therefore EVERYTHING, no matter how
complex, can be generated by a sequence of simple rules.

Ask him to deduce the cellular automoton that transformed
“I said, 'X'”
into
"So I'm like, 'X,' you know?”

That should keep him out of trouble for a little while.

What does this have to do with Macintosh applications?
(follow-up set)

--
Wes Groleau

Linguaphone and the place of grammar 1954
http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/barrett?itemid=1586
From: Wes Groleau on 5 Jul 2010 16:47
On 07-05-2010 14:43, AES wrote:
> Anyone who's heard of Wolfram Alpha or "NKS" (or Mathematica), but
> hasn't yet read this two-year-old ars technica blog about them

I should have read _all_ the comments [1] before posting:
“It's basically just a bigger library of constants and algorithms for
Mathematica. I don't see the philosophical problems.”

So, even if Google should somehow evolve into Forbin's Colossus,
Wolfram Alpha will still answer “Wolfram Alpha” when asked,
“What is the most intelligent software in existence?”

[1] I read the first page of War and Peace and decided
not to go further. No way am I going to attempt
1250 pages of NKS.

--
Wes Groleau

Teacher Tip: Personalize Exercises
http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=1474
From: Wes Groleau on 5 Jul 2010 18:10
On 07-05-2010 14:43, AES wrote:
> Anyone who's heard of Wolfram Alpha or "NKS" (or Mathematica), but

For amusement, ask Wolfram Alpha [1] the question
"What is the PHP syntax for lengthening an array with a new element?"

For even more amusement, click on the "the PHP" link it offers.

[1] “meta name="description" content="Wolfram|Alpha gives you access to
the world's facts, without searching. See what everyone is talking
about."” Who is “everyone”? No one I know. First time I heard of
it was a few months ago. Second was today.

When I first heard of it, I wondered why “everyone” was talking about
some kind of tungsten. (Ask Wolfram Alpha “What is wolfram?” and you
won't learn anything about chemistry!)

--
Wes Groleau

New “Telenovelas” Web Page
http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/russell?itemid=1032
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