Stephen Wolfram Livestreams

UPCOMING: MARCH 23, 2022 @ 3:30PM ET

History of Science and Technology Q&A »

UPCOMING: XXX @ XXXPM ET

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UPCOMING: MARCH 31, 2022 @ 3:30PM ET

Science and Technology Q&A for Kids (and others) »

Recent Livestreams

Live CEOing #695:
Live CEOing #694:
Science & Technology Q&A for Kids & Others:
Live CEOing #693:
Live CEOing #692:
History of Science & Technology Q&A:
Please discuss the history of graph theory and network theory. What was the role of computation? So graph theory evolved as a theory after practice, like thermodynamics and the steam engine? Graphs as knowledge representation were popular in AI the late 60s, and more formally in theoretical CS a decade later. ​​Was it a big effort to integrate graphs in Wolfram Language? Is it missing some part of the recent developments? Has anyone formulated Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory in terms of graph theory? At what point in history did mathematics reach a level where a single individual could no longer learn all "known knowledge" at that time within their lifetime? It seems too often amazing discoveries go years without being picked up by a particular community. If Aristotle were alive today, how might he describe modern technology? How would one explain modern technology to someone from Aristotle's time? Would you say the words "soul" or "spirit" were used in the past in much the same way we use the term "software" today? Why would cellphones be inconceivable? They work the same way speech does. The only difference is that the ancients didn't know about the electromagnetic field. In your own experience, have there been any major changes to a field of study that changed the way one would view a certain topic? I remember being in school studying astronomy when Pluto was declared to no longer be a planet and my professor's lesson plan had to adapt in an instant. I like pondering what Professor Einstein may have been able to do with Wolfram|Alpha. View Less »
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Live CEOing #691:
Live CEOing #690:
Science & Technology Q&A for Kids & Others:
Could every exoplanet have a habitable zone if one could get just far enough away from the star? What makes a planet habitable? Why do we measure sound using decibels? What advances in synthetic biology do you think will happen in the short term, the long term and the very long term? Have you visited Ginkgo Bioworks in Boston? AI-designed proteins that do biocomputation These processes, in the case of life, exist in a coevolved physiochemical balance. That would be hard to reproduce. How do you think space travel will change/improve as technology advances? Will it become a regular form of transportation sometime in the future? When helicopters were first developed, people thought they would transform cities and be our new taxis. But they're too expensive. On the subject of shorter travel times, I remember Heinlein suggesting in his books using suborbital rockets to travel between destinations. Would such an idea be too expensive for companies to run? Or would such an idea be feasible to cut travel time? I think the cost and safety risks associated with space and underwater ocean tourism will keep them from ever being commonplace. Now your perspective on what's possible for travel is different than the younger generations'. In relation to what you are saying about air travel, cellphones and computers, all of those technologies went through a long period (10+ years) of being luxury goods that only the richest people on Earth could use. The same will probably be true for space travel. Do you think that problem will get better or worse over time? View Less »
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Live CEOing #689:
Business, Innovation & Managing Life Q&A:
What is your favorite blog/book you've written? Any specific reason, why or why not? How was your trip? Was it for business or just for fun? As a remote CEO, do you ever get cabin fever from being home constantly? Do you try to keep work in certain rooms of your home to combat this? Have you tried anything like tracking your sentiment as you work by using a neural net to analyze a video feed of your face/body? I'm struggling with this nagging feeling that I'm progressing slower than I want to. I know I'm doing what I can, but I still can't shake it off. Have you ever dealt with this? If so, how? What management strategies do you use to get the most out of your employees? ​​How can I increase the chance of my admission to a master's degree in complex systems or cognitive sciences? How do you decide on when to make a big change in the technology you use/build, for example, switching Wolfram Workbench from Eclipse to VS Code? Good project definition—formalizing what a project means—is one very important part. But how much do money/stock options/vacations (to avoid burnout) influence employee morale? Or giving them a project that they want to work on, or people they want to work with? I've been one to say, "If I get more money, I'll care more." In the end, it didn't work. It's better to optimize for things that you just like working on. What do you think about code review/peer review? Does it slow down a company or research? Do you think there are other alternatives to this? How often do you work on the Physics Project in terms of weeks or months? How do you manage your life to work on this when finding the rule of our universe has no business case (at least in the short term)? ​​How do you deal with confusion and the feeling of "I don't understand this"? Given your knowledge of the foundations of math and physics: do you bother to research the fundamental theories of project management, or try an attempt to formalize it, experiment with different project definitions, etc.? How is the process of picking a mentee? Do you look for specific clues? Is there anything an individual can do to stand out? You seem to care a lot about the history of ideas in scientific areas. Do you think this is a must for producing meaningful work in research? I work as an innovation consultant. For a year now I have been on a journey to redesign/innovate and develop a new type of computer case. But I battle with this feeling all the time that I will fail and don't have a chance against all the "giants." How do I overcome this feeling? Or do I just accept it and go on? View Less »
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Live CEOing #688: