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.
Mathematics
(14)March 1, 1993
From: Interview by Paul Wellin, Mathematica in Education
What do you think of the state of math and science education in the US right now?
March 1, 1993
From: Interview by Paul Wellin, Mathematica in Education
Why have computer science and mathematics departments diverged so strongly in the recent past?
March 1, 1993
From: Interview by Paul Wellin, Mathematica in Education
Do you think that mathematics and the rest of the sciences will tend to become less distinct, becoming more and more involved in similar computational tasks, albeit on different problems?
June 1, 1996
From: Interview by Stephen Collart, Euromath Bulletin
Some observers see a research crisis in mathematical computation—a dearth of both fundamental and practical advances; others are concerned about a looming funding crisis. How do you see the situation?
June 1, 1996
From: Interview by Stephen Collart, Euromath Bulletin
In what areas of mathematics do you see an underdeveloped potential for computational methods? What could be done to encourage developments?
April 9, 2005
From: Interview by Andres Hax, Clarín
One of the most stunning aspects of A New Kind of Science—at least for a layman—is the absence of mathematics. In the long term, will your discoveries make mathematics an obsolete tool for scientific inquiry?
March 5, 2012
From: Reddit AMA
What got you into mathematics in the first place? What is your favorite piece of mathematics? i.e theorem, proof, fact, construction etc.
May 14, 2012
From: Reddit AMA
If somebody proved P=NP, what do you think your reaction would be?
May 14, 2012
From: Reddit AMA
How do you see integration of computational thinking into general math education working? Is it something that every student should be exposed to? How deep does the integration go?
February 23, 2016
From: Reddit AMA
What do you think is the most interesting open problem in mathematics?
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?
November 7, 2016
From: Interview by Dingyu Chen, Eton Magazine
Hypothetically, if you could choose two fields of math, physics or computing to be magically fully researched, which ones would you choose, and why?
November 21, 2016
From: Interview by Sarah Lewin, Space.com
If there are some aspects of mathematics that might be common for aliens and humans, would there also be a lot that wouldn’t overlap?
March 4, 2019
From: Reddit AMA