Stephen Wolfram Livestreams

Science & Technology Q&A for Kids & Others (160 videos)

Weekly ask-me-anything about science & technology

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New episode streaming Friday, July 25, 2025 at 3:30pm ET. Submit your questions

Science & Technology Q&A for Kids & Others:
Science & Technology Q&A for Kids (and Others) [Episode 70] »

1 hour 14 minutes

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How do induction cooktops work—specifically, without burning your hand if you touch them? How does a shortwave radio signal go completely around the world? Will new logic or mathematics operators be invented or discovered? Why do we have two different things—such as numbers + operators, data + algorithms—and we represent many things with those two things? Why not three? Why not four? Why not one? What's the difference between CPUs, GPUs, TPUs and ASICs? How viable is a big numerical reverse database to identify closed forms of real numbers, such as Plouffe's inverter? View Less »
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Science & Technology Q&A for Kids & Others:
Science & Technology Q&A for Kids (and Others) [Episode 69] »

59 minutes

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What is 1/3 of a century? Why do mathematicians create models if machine learning can create more complex and better models? Hello. Can you create gold from lead by putting some lead next to a big pile of plutonium? How proportionate is public opinion of a person to actual achievement of that person generally? ​How would one go about building a UFO? What technology do we need for that? What mathematical achievements/solutions do we need? Thanks. View Less »
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Science & Technology Q&A for Kids & Others:
Science & Technology Q&A for Kids (and Others) [Episode 68] »

1 hour 21 minutes

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​Are there any models that predict how society behaves? What knowledge helps weather prediction and how (like pressure, temperature, wind, distances, etc.)? When you (Stephen Wolfram) count in your head, do you count verbally or visually (or another way)? Feynman wrote an interesting story about this in one of his books. If you write enough errors that cancel each other out perfectly, your code is perfect. How do we improve our inductions toward producing creative results for science? Which side of the quarter has better aerodynamics? If a quarter were flipped by a human hand 100,000 times on a windy day and another 100,000 times on a non-windy day, would the overall outcome still be 50/50 heads or tails in both instances? How can you end up with a different set of rules while describing a system with definite and observable behavior? No matter whether there is alien consciousness or not, the rules will remain the same. How do you spell that? "Ooogleriffousness"? Why can't logic be easier to understand? What I mean is, all this academic stuff that teaches logic... it seems all Greek to me. When I try to learn more, I get bored fast because they explain it too complicatedly. View Less »
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Science & Technology Q&A for Kids & Others:
Science & Technology Q&A for Kids (and Others) [Episode 67] »

1 hour 16 minutes

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​​How closely are computer clocks synchronized in different parts of the world? How do they synchronize? ​How does the body know when to create scar tissue? Does the body make different scar tissue based on the tissue it's repairing? ​​​What is the meaning of light years? ​​Could you say something about this year's Nobel Prize on complex systems? Is there any relation to your Wolfram model? ​​​​How do messenger pigeons find their destinations? How can I fix dizziness on a boat (new Navy sailor here)? ​​​​​Were you bitten by a pigeon as a child? #spiderman #pigeonman I wonder if there is a difference in accuracy in the sensing of the magnetic field depending on whether it is just one bird, or a few or many flying together. View Less »
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Science & Technology Q&A for Kids & Others:
Science & Technology Q&A for Kids (and Others) [Episode 66] »

1 hour 26 minutes

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Why do flies fly around seemingly constantly with no apparent goal whatsoever? Why don't we make houses out of some kind of amber and then carve them? How do traffic light systems work? Does Stephen prepare any of the answers? They are all so clear and thought out. Hello. How are the magnetic north and geographical north related? How come oil is deposited in Arctic regions? Could you please explain what eigenvalues/vectors are and what you can do with them? Thanks. View Less »
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Science & Technology Q&A for Kids & Others:
Science & Technology Q&A for Kids (and Others) [Episode 65] »

1 hour 8 minutes

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What technological and/or scientific capabilities must humans achieve to be able to manipulate and reprogram matter at will? How does the gene-editing technique CRISPR work? Why are routines for sleeping, eating, exercise, etc., so helpful for mammals? When is routine harmful? ​Is there an example where self-assembly is industrially used? ​How harmful are plane flights in terms of radiation exposure? If I were able to create a black hole the size of a marble in my living room, would it destroy the cosmos or just make a hole in my couch? Is it true our electrical distribution networks and neuronal networks in the brain have the same configuration? Why do some speculate there's life on Europa, a moon of Jupiter? How do batteries wear out? In this case, would 3D printing be easier in space? Isn't it weird that our body mostly works fine in zero gravity? View Less »
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