The Last Theory

In defence of Stephen Wolfram


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You like Stephen Wolfram, right?

I mean, if he’s to be believed, he has reinvented physics, not to mention philosophy.

How could you not like such a thinker?

Well... it turns out that there are plenty of people who don’t like Stephen Wolfram... or his physics... or his philosophy.

Here are four criticisms of Stephen Wolfram I regularly hear...

...and here’s why these criticisms, though they hint at uncomfortable truths, nonetheless miss the mark.

Stephen Wolfram:

  • Stephen Wolfram
  • Stephen Wolfram’s web site
  • Timeline
  • TED talks
  • List of podcast appearances
  • List of video appearances

Stephen Wolfram’s claims:

  • He has a path to the fundamental theory of physics
  • He has an answer to the question: what is an observer?
  • He has an answer to the question: what is consciousness?
  • He has an answer to the question: why does the universe exist?
  • He seems surprised at how little discussion there has been of his answer to the question: why does the universe exist?

Some of the things Stephen Wolfram created:

  • 1987 Wolfram Research
  • 1988 Mathematica
  • 2009 Wolfram Alpha
  • 2014 Wolfram Language
  • 2020 Wolfram Physics

Other people involved in the Wolfram Physics Project:

  • Jonathan Gorard
  • Max Piskunov

Other people mentioned in this episode:

  • Freeman Dysonquote
  • Sean CarrollquoteMindscape podcastepisode #155 with Stephen Wolfram
  • Katie Mackquote
  • Adam MastroianniThe rise and fall of peer review
  • Father Strickland – quote

Brilliant people of the past:

  • Leonardo da Vinci
  • Gregor Mendel
  • Nikola Tesla
  • Aristotle
  • Galileo Galilei
  • Isaac Newton
  • Albert Einstein
  • Max Born
  • Paul Dirac
  • Werner Heisenberg
  • Erwin Schrödinger
  • Wolfgang Pauli

Other episodes of The Last Theory mentioned:

  • Why has there been no progress in physics since 1973? – articlepodcastvideo
  • Peer review is suffocating science – articlepodcastvideo

Reference:

  • Wolfram Research now has over 800 employees

Images:

  • Freeman Dyson 2005 by ioerror licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

The Last Theory is hosted by Mark Jeffery, founder of Open Web Mind

I release The Last Theory as a video too! Watch here.

The full article is here.

Kootenay Village Ventures Inc.

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The Last TheoryBy Mark Jeffery