Stephen Wolfram Livestreams

Science & Technology Q&A for Kids & Others (159 videos)

Weekly ask-me-anything about science & technology

New episode streaming Friday, June 6, 2025 at 3:30pm ET. Submit your questions

Science & Technology Q&A for Kids & Others:

Science & Technology Q&A for Kids (and Others) [Episode 27] »

1 hour 56 minutes

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Why do some people commonly refer the internet to the World Wide Web? Isn't the world wide web a bunch of networks or website on the internet? Is there a philosopher who had developed a system which is close to your perspective right now? What are your tips about writing essays? Why does the electron and the proton have the same amount of charge? Why can't magnetic monopoles exist? Bearing in mind the current topic, as well as thinking about Sapir-Whorf hypothesis - do you ever think about how humans might be 'thinking' in the future... (thinking paradigms of thought related to the future) Do I have an opinion about such and such papers? I don't know if Stephen was asked this question during these, but let me ask: Hello Stephen, how are you? Would you advise today's gen Z to become independent researchers rather than academics? Do you like Turtles? View Less »

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Science & Technology Q&A for Kids & Others:

Science & Technology Q&A for Kids (and Others) [Episode 26] »

2 hours 5 minutes

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Are instruction sets architectures important for simulating physical systems, and how they could change the way kids understand computers? How much do you follow your instincts? How do you develop a good instinct, in science and in life? What is the financial market? Jack Dorsey is endorsing your idea of an algorithm choice by third parties, would u be an adviser for the implementation? Since we collided particles in accelerators ... Does a proton has a surface and how does it looks like? Do you believe pursuing both Computer Science and Actuarial Science is a good idea? (for context, I'm a first-year university student who takes both subjects this year and it's possible to complete a degree with both as majors (and Stats) in 4 years) How can protons be perfectly spherical while also being composed of three quarks? Much like yourself I went to a local-ish good university studying mathematics (not cs). so do you have any tips on getting ahead of my class and into research? View Less »

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Science & Technology Q&A for Kids & Others:

Science & Technology Q&A for Kids (and Others) [Episode 25] »

1 hour 29 minutes

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Can you explain computational irreducibility like you're telling a 6 year old? How different is nanotechnology manufacturing different from normal manufacturing? What is the historical relationship between chemistry and physics? Is chemistry a sub-branch of physics? Can aging really be cured? Isn't death a fundamental factor of evolution to more sophisticated beings? What about the "immortal jellyfish"? Is there anything more terrifying than living forever? If there is ethical problems with eternal life what kind of issues would it be is it about resources and if so are our resources finite? Will there be nanomachine that reprogram cells to prolong life or even make life go on forever? Is infinity a semi-theological concept? Is infinity beyond counting and measuring -- and therefore not fundamentally an empirical concept? View Less »

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Science & Technology Q&A for Kids & Others:

Science & Technology Q&A for Kids (and Others) [Episode 24] »

1 hour 32 minutes

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Is there a physical principle that governs Moore's law? Why is there so much available computation? If F=ma, and photons have a mass of 0, how can light sails work? Do photons have some properties of having mass? As of right now, what do you anticipate will be the outcome of the Wolfram Physics Project? What practical applications will it have? What is more difficult for you to create things or to explain how they work to others? As your Physics Project shed any light on the protein folding problem? If you squint right, there seems to be a connection. How does black hole merging work? Is there any theory about what type of particles a potential black hole would be made off? What's your experience and opinion about Alchemy and is it possible to incorporate a modernized version of it into Mathematica? What do we know about the nature of time travel? Will time machines as depicted in science fiction stories remain fiction for the foreseeable future? Can there be architectures that do not seem to make sense that simply have higher order of complexity not dependent on binary arithmetic circuits? That will be used in future? I am currently in high school, what advice would you give to an aspiring mathematician? View Less »

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Science & Technology Q&A for Kids & Others:

Science & Technology Q&A for Kids (and Others) [Episode 23] »

1 hour 23 minutes

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Why is that the sunspot cycle is important for shortwave radio? What aspects of the origin of life would be interesting to investigate with current computing tools? How does 3d printing work and what is its potential? How do you think like a mathmatician or scientist? Question about people being taught/educated by AI What is the difference between science and philosophy? View Less »

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Science & Technology Q&A for Kids & Others:

Science & Technology Q&A for Kids (and Others) [Episode 22] »

1 hour 23 minutes

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Where were you in the dot com bubble burst and your wisdom was needed? What work did you do at Bell labs? Who did you meet? Was it the need in telephone grid that drove the innovation of the transistor? How many shirts do you own? Are there any string theorists who believe that nature is finite and digital? Great scientists typically have great students. Is it because something is transferred from a teacher to a student or because talented people try to reach outstanding supervisors? What age do you think is the best age to start coding? And why? What does it mean 'correlation does not imply causation'? Can you give an example what you will do with Wolfram language if you were 13 years old? View Less »

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