Stephen Wolfram Q&A
Submit a questionSome collected questions and answers by Stephen Wolfram
Questions may be edited for brevity; see links for full questions.
November 7, 2016
From: Interview by Dingyu Chen, Eton Magazine
Will mathematicians need to learn classical mathematics (algebra, analysis, calculus) in the future if computers can do it for us?
Once one’s made something into a definite calculation, then, yes, one can just get a computer to do it. The challenge is in doing the mathematical thinking or computational thinking to get it to the point where it can be explained to a computer. And that’s the important thing for people to learn to do.
Mathematics is the single largest integrated intellectual structure our civilization has produced. It’s got a lot of good ideas and concepts in it. It’s worth learning it.