The Stephen Wolfram Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Stephen Wolfram Q&A, For Kids (and others) [October 9, 2020] Jan 22, 2021

Show notes

Stephen Wolfram answers general questions from his viewers about science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series.

Questions include:
Do protons decay? - Theoretically, If there was a ladder stretching from earth to a distant planet, say a light year away. Could you communicate with people there instantly by push and pulling, Morse code style? And is this related to quantum entanglement? - Who do you think was the smartest person to ever live? - Do you think that it is possible to make secret some big discovery related to let say AI by government, similar to Project Manhattan? - Any stories about Roger Penrose? - Would it be possible to have a stream in which we can see the output of the detector? - Hey Stephen do you believe that there was an idea of technology before modern civilizations?

See the full Q&A video playlist: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qa

Wolfram Physics Project Update and Q&A (Jan. 19, 2021) Jan 20, 2021

Show notes

Stephen Wolfram & Jonathan Gorard discuss updates to the project followed by a Q&A. See the full Wolfram Physics Project video playlist on YouTube: https://wolfr.am/youtube-wpp

Stephen Wolfram Q&A, For Kids (and others) [October 2, 2020] Jan 13, 2021

Show notes

Stephen Wolfram answers general questions from his viewers about science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series.

Questions include: Do you think that neurons work more as a mechanical system or rather on quantum level? Is computational power done by the neural network or more by the microtubules? - It has been argued that the majority of published research findings in science are false (i.e., overfitting). Since you have read 100s of research papers, has this been your experience? Are there fields where the academic research is generally of higher quality? - Is it possible to slow climate change by creating like a layer of clouds to lower temperature by a bit? - How do birds fly and why is it so hard to completely understand and mimic it? -
What does it mean when a paper is peer review. Who are the peers? -
I want to teach science for my 3 years old sister, what subjects do I teach? - Regarding climate change, if all of the glaciers melt, how will coastal cities keep the water back? - How many hours of sleep you get?

See the full Q&A video playlist: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qa

Stephen Wolfram Q&A, For Kids (and others) [September 25, 2020] Jan 13, 2021

Show notes

Stephen Wolfram answers general questions from his viewers about science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series.

Questions include: Hi Stephen, you have said that you doubt whether quantum computers will ever work. Why do I read so often that another quantum computer was built with so and so many qbits? - We know there are more than three dimensions? - What is quantum tunneling? - Why is the 3-body problem so hard to solve? - Who is your favourite Manhattan project Scientist? I was reading about Stanislaw Ulam did you ever meet him? -
Have you ever considered teaching other subjects besides math? What subjects? - What do you know about Ettore Majorana? -
I'd be curious to hear what your thoughts are on Music Theory and Composition. Are you familiar with Dmitri Tymoczko at Princeton? -
Can you explain Hurwitz's automorphisms theorem? - Do you think that neurons work more as a mechanical system or rather on quantum level? Is computational power done by the neural network or more by the microtubules?

See the full Q&A video playlist: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qa

Stephen Wolfram Q&A, For Kids (and others) [September 18, 2020] Jan 13, 2021

Show notes

Stephen Wolfram answers general questions from his viewers about science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series.

Questions include: Can data be sent via light wirelessly? - How can there be different types of twilights and would you observe the same thing on Mars? - Why is the sky not black? - How do I become a scientist like you? How did you make it to create a business out of it? -
Is it possible to do a PhD research under your supervision? - Can photons interact? I heard about light-by-light scattering; but aren't photons just the (independent) quantum activation of an electro-magnetic wave? - My supervisor says that I should do little progresses and publish lots even if shallow works, but I am more inclined to fewer deeper works. What should I do? - Is there a hard lesson you learnt that has impacted you deeply?

See the full Q&A video playlist: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qa

Stephen Wolfram Q&A, For Kids (and others) [September 11, 2020] Dec 18, 2020

Show notes

Stephen Wolfram answers general questions from his viewers about science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series.

Questions include:
If humankind had evolved 12 fingers, and if we all used base 12 to count and do commerce, would this have made any difference to our scientific development? -
Do you think you could convince Dana Scott to expand his lecture "Looking Forward, Looking Backward" into a memoirs book similar to "idea makers"? -
As in your physics project, do you think the entire legal system could emerge from a few simple laws (rules)? - Imaginary Numbers Are Real? What is present in real life? - How can we implement quantum logic circuit? - Is pi irrational because we use decimal system? Because in binary 0.1 can't be expressed properly. Do you think if we used something else for pi it would be rational? - How much do you trust current methods of encryption (leaving quantum computers aside)? Are they really unbreakable? - What do you think about AI writing mathematical proofs? - Your products excel at making complex technology user accessible - even for the layperson. Could you speak to what makes them so successful? - What's the best way to learn something for slow learners?

See the full Q&A video playlist: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qa

Stephen Wolfram Q&A, For Kids (and others) [September 4, 2020] Dec 18, 2020

Show notes

Stephen Wolfram answers general questions from his viewers about science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series.

Questions include: What's your opinion of the usability and programmability of current computers in comparison to the ones you have used ind your live? Do you have any wish regarding future computers? - How do you think we can fix the shortcomings of the current neural network architectures? - Why does hitting a bucket of water on the side with a tennis ball make the water surface splash with plenty of tiny droplets which go very high, but hitting it with the same force with the foot make the water move as a big lump which don't splash. Is it analogous to the photoelectric effect? - What sources do you use for keeping up with science news? - How can I get my PhD in physics at age 20 like you? - Were you involved with the SICP course over at MIT? - Why computational science is not spreading among high schools?

See the full Q&A video playlist: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qa

Stephen Wolfram Q&A, For Kids (and others) [August 28, 2020] Nov 23, 2020

Show notes

Stephen Wolfram answers general questions from his viewers about science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series.

Questions include: Is the number 0 a natural or an integer number? - How do you do calculus on round object like spheres or donuts? - If you could change how we measure time, would you and to what? -
I've read that their is/are giant clouds of (methyl) alcohol in space. Can it be a possibility that those clouds of alcohol have to chance to potentially "sanitize" microbes that one day could lead to complex and or intelligent life? - Speaking of the Romans, do you think Latin is a better language than English for science and mathematics? - How can we get the slope of hills when the earth is round and not flat picture of a curve? - How can one achieve file fragmentation in a filesystem designed for archive files? For example how can one append x number of sectors to a static list of Tar Posix Headers and file data sections. - Do you have any ideas on how to solve protein folding? Would your math research help with this problem? -
Is there a relation between the classification of finite simple groups and your physics theory?

See the full Q&A video playlist: wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qa

Stephen Wolfram Q&A, For Kids (and others) [August 21, 2020] Nov 23, 2020

Show notes

Stephen Wolfram answers general questions from his viewers about science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series.

Questions include: Why does matter and anti-matter annihilate when they come together? What is the mechanism behind an electron and a positron to convert to energy when they meet? Saying that they are of opposite charges doesn't really explain it - So entropy always tends towards the lowest energy state? - What is the most "scientifically" interesting place you have visited? - How long does the "virtual photon" live before it converts into a pair of particles? - Why do humans have unique fingerprints, iris etc? and do other creatures also have these features?? - What is your favorite unsolved problem? - If you could go back in time and help a legendary scientist solve a problem, who and what would it be? - What is the oldest known and unknown civilization which had the notion of universe and mathematics?

See the full Q&A video playlist: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qa

Stephen Wolfram Q&A, For Kids (and others) [August 14, 2020] Nov 20, 2020

Show notes

Stephen Wolfram answers general questions from his viewers about science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series.

Questions include: What is dark matter? - Why is the Sun's corona hotter than its core? - Are white holes only theoretical or are they real? Is a black hole a sphere with condensed light and matter? or does all that light and matter go somewhere? - A question from 8 years old boy from Houston enjoying this stream but can't stop himself from asking: is it possible now to clone a dinosaur (given that proper quality DNA material will be found)? - How can we tell the difference between science and pseudoscience? - In convection, what drives the flow of air/fluid in the first place? is it just the potential energy stored in the temperature gradient? - Is there any possibility of creation of dark matter in fusion reactors like tokomak? - Why is the moon the same size as the sun? [from what we see on Earth] - What do you do for fun?

See the full Q&A video playlist: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qa