Institute Output

“I Have a Theory Too”: The Challenge and Opportunity of Avocational Science
Computational Essay Stephen Wolfram Computational Essay Stephen Wolfram

“I Have a Theory Too”: The Challenge and Opportunity of Avocational Science

Stephen Wolfram

Most physicists term people who send such theories “crackpots”, and either discard their missives or send back derisive responses. I’ve never felt like that was the right thing to do. Somehow I’ve always felt as if there has to be a way to channel that interest and effort into something that would be constructive and fulfilling for all concerned. And maybe, just maybe, I now have at least one idea in that direction.

Read More
Games and Puzzles as Multicomputational Systems
Computational Essay Stephen Wolfram Computational Essay Stephen Wolfram

Games and Puzzles as Multicomputational Systems

Stephen Wolfram

Multicomputation is one of the core ideas of the Wolfram Physics Project—and in particular is at the heart of our emerging understanding of quantum mechanics. But how can one get an intuition for what is initially the rather abstract idea of multicomputation? A good approach, I believe, is to see it in action in familiar systems and situations. And I explore here what seems like a particularly good example: games and puzzles.

Read More
The Concept of the Ruliad
Computational Essay Stephen Wolfram Computational Essay Stephen Wolfram

The Concept of the Ruliad

Stephen Wolfram

I call it the ruliad. Think of it as the entangled limit of everything that is computationally possible: the result of following all possible computational rules in all possible ways. It’s yet another surprising construct that’s arisen from our Physics Project. And it’s one that I think has extremely deep implications—both in science and beyond.

Read More
Multicomputation: A Fourth Paradigm for Theoretical Science
Computational Essay Stephen Wolfram Computational Essay Stephen Wolfram

Multicomputation: A Fourth Paradigm for Theoretical Science

Stephen Wolfram

One might have thought it was already exciting enough for our Physics Project to be showing a path to a fundamental theory of physics and a fundamental description of how our physical universe works. But what I’ve increasingly been realizing is that actually it’s showing us something even bigger and deeper: a whole fundamentally new paradigm for making models and in general for doing theoretical science. And I fully expect that this new paradigm will give us ways to address a remarkable range of longstanding central problems in all sorts of areas of science—as well as suggesting whole new areas and new directions to pursue.

Read More
The Problem of Distributed Consensus
Computational Essay Stephen Wolfram Computational Essay Stephen Wolfram

The Problem of Distributed Consensus

Stephen Wolfram

In any decentralized system with computers, people, databases, measuring devices or anything else one can end up with different values or results at different “nodes”. But for all sorts of reasons one often wants to agree on a single “consensus” value, that one can for example use to “make a decision and go on to the next step”.

Read More
Finally We May Have a Path to the Fundamental Theory of Physics…  and It’s Beautiful
Computational Essay Stephen Wolfram Computational Essay Stephen Wolfram

Finally We May Have a Path to the Fundamental Theory of Physics…  and It’s Beautiful

Stephen Wolfram

It’s unexpected, surprising—and for me incredibly exciting. To be fair, at some level I’ve been working towards this for nearly 50 years. But it’s just in the last few months that it’s finally come together. And it’s much more wonderful, and beautiful, than I’d ever imagined.

Read More