Re: Is Stephen Wolfram (mathematica) delusional?

From: mark griffith (contact_at_otherlanguages.org)
Date: 09/04/04 

Date: Sat, 4 Sep 2004 21:07:42 +0000 (UTC)

.

I don't know about delusional, but perhaps a bit pleased with
himself, yes.

The complexity/artificial-life claims puzzle me. Didn't von
Neumann originate artificial life in the 50s, and isn't Conway's
Game of Life (from the early 70s? late 60s?) still the most
interesting starting point for a lot of that stuff. I recall
reading about Conway's Life game in a late-70s biology book
in 81, so I'm not sure where Wolfram got the idea he blazed
this trail.

Mark Griffith

On 04 Sep 2004, Xman wrote:
>(If this topic is moderated by a Wolfram employee, please let me know
>that when you reject this post.)
>
>This is what Stephen Wolfram has to say about himself in the help
>files of Mathematica version 5. Make up your own mind if Wolfram is
>delusional or not. I have added my comments in square brackets. He has
>had his say so we have a right to answer back.
>
>
>"Stephen Wolfram is the creator of Mathematica, and a well-known
>scientist [well-known, but not for being a scientist]. He is widely
>regarded as the most important innovator in technical computing today
>[not really], as well as one of the world's most original research
>scientists [this is a total lie].
>
>Born in London in 1959, he was educated at Eton, Oxford and Caltech.
>He published his first scientific paper at the age of fifteen, and had
>received his PhD in theoretical physics from Caltech by the age of
>twenty. Wolfram's early scientific work was mainly in high-energy
>physics, quantum field theory and cosmology, and included several now
>classic results [he must have a definition of classic that I've not
>heard of]. Having started to use computers in 1973, Wolfram rapidly
>became a leader in the emerging field of scientific computing, and in
>1979 he began the construction of SMP—the first modern computer
>algebra system—which he released commercially in 1981.
>
>In recognition of his early work in physics and computing, Wolfram
>became in 1981 the youngest recipient of a MacArthur Prize Fellowship.
>Late in 1981, Wolfram then set out on an ambitious new direction in
>science: to develop a general theory of complexity in nature.
>Wolfram's key idea was to use computer experiments to study the
>behavior of simple computer programs known as cellular automata. And
>in 1982 he made the first in a series of startling discoveries about
>the origins of complexity [the only person startled was himself]. The
>publication of Wolfram's papers on cellular automata led to a major
>shift in scientific thinking [no it didn't], and laid the groundwork
>for a new field of science that Wolfram named "complex systems
>research". [he can call it what he likes but it doesn't mean anyone
>took any notice].
>
>Through the mid-1980s, Wolfram continued his work on complexity,
>discovering a number of fundamental connections between computation
>and nature [no he didn't], and inventing such concepts as
>computational irreducibility. Wolfram's work led to a wide range of
>applications—and provided the main scientific foundations for the
>popular movements known as complexity theory and artificial life [no
>it didn't]. Wolfram himself used his ideas to develop a new randomness
>generation system and a new approach to computational fluid
>dynamics—both of which are now in widespread use. [if you say so]
>
>Following his scientific work on complex systems research, Wolfram in
>1986 founded the first research center and first journal in the field.
>[because no other journal would publish his ideas] Then, after a
>highly successful career in academia—first at Caltech, then at the
>Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, and finally as Professor of
>Physics, Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of
>Illinois—Wolfram launched Wolfram Research, Inc.
>
>Wolfram began the development of Mathematica in late 1986. The first
>version of Mathematica was released on June 23, 1988, and was
>immediately hailed as a major advance in computing. In the years that
>followed, the popularity of Mathematica grew rapidly, and Wolfram
>Research became established as a world leader in the software
>industry, widely recognized for excellence in both technology and
>business. Wolfram has been president and CEO of Wolfram Research since
>its inception, and continues to be personally responsible for the
>overall design of its core technology.
>
>Following the release of Mathematica Version 2 in 1991, Wolfram began
>to divide his time between Mathematica development and scientific
>research. Building on his work from the mid-1980s, and now with
>Mathematica as a tool, Wolfram made a rapid succession of major new
>discoveries. By the mid-1990s his discoveries led him to develop a
>fundamentally new conceptual framework [ok...], which he then spent
>the remainder of the 1990s applying not only to new kinds of
>questions, but also to many existing foundational problems in physics,
>biology, computer science, mathematics and several other fields. [I
>just applied the method of 'colouring things in red' to Einstein's
>equations.]
>
>After more than ten years of highly concentrated work, Wolfram finally
>described his achievements in his [self-published] 1200-page book A
>New Kind of Science [new but totally useless and nothing to do with
>nature and hence by definition not science at all]. Released on May
>14, 2002, the book was widely acclaimed [..as not being anything to do
>with science] and immediately became a bestseller [what do you expect
>if you have millions to promote it with]. Its publication has been
>seen as initiating a paradigm shift [no]of historic importance [no] in
>science[not at all].
>
>In addition to leading Wolfram Research to break new ground with
>innovative technology, Wolfram is now developing a series of research
>and educational initiatives in the science he has created. [oh dear]"

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