Rick Raw: Wolfram Alpha Launches–A Computational Knowledge Engine

By Rick Grant Commentary rickgrant01@comcast.net www.rickatnight.com

Stephen Wolfram, a highly acclaimed mathematician and astrophysicist, spent years putting together this search engine for scientists and lay-people. Oh, pardon moi, he says it’s not a "search engine" but a "computational knowledge engine." For lesser brains like yours and mine, it’s a giant number cruncher which coughs up solutions to formulas and any scientific information one is seeking. Example: "Alpha what is the formula for picking-up women?" Answer: S+Y+A+A+D=S" S(Say) Y(You) A(Are) A(A) D (Doctor)= S(Score)

This brain bank doesn’t just give you preprogrammed information like Google, but it compares statistics, solves problems, and builds charts based on online data supplied by the user. Call it a problem solver for scientists and other techies that need this type of information at their fingertips. For scientists in the field who are not able to log onto their supercomputers back at their universities, this will be a godsend.

Wolfram says that Alpha is a big advance for how well computers can think. In other words, it’s Google with a brain that can answer specific scientific questions. Moreover, it’s like having Stephen Wolfram available to answer your questions, not just reference already existing data. It’s the Oracle, on-line. Cue spacy music.

The brainiac behind this new computational knowledge engine, Stephen Wolfram, 50, published his first scientific paper at age 16. At 20, he earned his PhD and in 1981 he was the youngest recipient of the MacArthur Prize Fellowship.

Wolfram’s first key idea was to use computer experiments to study the behavior of simple computer programs known as cellular automata. In 1982, this research led him to make a series of startling discoveries about the origins of complexity. Wolfram’s further research laid the groundwork for the emerging field that Wolfram called "complex systems research."

One of Wolfram’s most important breakthroughs was his discovery of a number of fundamental connections between computation and nature, which led to his invention of the concept of computational irreducibility. This study led to the fledgling field of artificial intelligence that has mushroomed exponentially in recent times.

During the 1990s, Wolfram’s work led to a wide range of applications. He used his own ideas to develop a new randomness generation system and a new approach to computational fluid dynamics, which are now in widespread use. His academic pursuits were first sponsored by Caltech and then the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. This led to a professorship at the University of Illinois as Professor of Physics, Mathematics and Computer Science.

Indeed, Wolfram’s computational knowledge engine incorporates his discoveries in artificial intelligence. He views his Alpha engine as an advance in thinking machines. Wolfram’s work continues to influence the computer science community which see him as a pathfinder in thinking machines.

Wolfram Alpha is a serious scientific tool for anyone to use. Wolfram has always shared his discoveries with his colleagues in the scientific community. As users give him feedback, Wolfram will refine his engine to better use his concepts. The engine is like a computer science lab unto itself. Its future is unlimited and it will evolve like artificial life.

So, Wolfram wants to hear from users and he is soliciting ideas to greatly expand Alpha’s abilities. It’s the most exciting new development in the Internet’s history. Alpha is a thinking artificial entity in its infancy. It will grow into something even Wolfram hasn’t yet conceived.