Herman Fuchs

Wolfram AlphaMay/2009

History"The Man Who Cracked The Code to Everything" - Wired

[about Stephen Wolfram]

Wolfram Alpha

Framework for "simple programs", to any field1.Its operation can be completely explained by a simple graphical illustration2.It can be completely explained in a few sentences of human language3.It can be implemented in a computer language using just a few lines of code4.The number of its possible variations is small enough so that all of them can be computed

Definition

+ Computational Knowledge Engine+ Distributed Computing + Natural Language Processing (Semantic Search)

= Answering Machine

www.wolframalpha.com

Wolfram Alpha

Sounds familiar?

Super calculator? Wikipedia killer? Search engine for nerds? No! Try Google Squared. Extracts structured data from accross de web (Google Squared) x

Extracts structured data from its knowledge base + algorithms (Wolfram Alpha) Search Engine Watch: "quite possibly ... one of Google's most significant achievements"

Wolfram Alpha

Structured data example

"[Wolfram Alpha] Focuses on Great Answers - Not Movie Times"

- PCWorld

Wolfram Alpha

"100 million queries and 55.000 feedback messages in 1 week"

So what?

Mathematics » Elementary Math · Numbers · Plotting · Algebra · Matrices · Calculus · Geometry · Trigonometry · Discrete Math · Number Theory · Applied Math · Logic · Functions

Statistics & Data Analysis » Data Analysis · Regression · Statistical Distributions · Probability

Physics » Mechanics · Electricity & Magnetism · Optics · Relativity · Nuclear Physics · Quantum Physics · Particle Physics · Statistical Physics · Astrophysics · Physical Constants

Chemistry » Elements · Compounds · Ions · Quantities · Solutions · Chemical Thermodynamics

Engineering » Acoustics · Aeronautics · Electric Circuits · Fluid Mechanics · Steam Tables · Structures

Astronomy » Star Charts · Planets · Moons · Minor Planets · Comets · Eclipses · Stars · Galaxies · Astrophysics

Life Sciences » Animals & Plants · Dinosaurs · DNA Sequence Lookup · Genes · SNPs · Proteins

Computational Sciences » Cellular Automata · Fractals · Functional Programming

Units & Measures » Conversions · Calculations · Comparisons · Dimensional Analysis · Industrial Measures · Batteries · Bulk Materials · Paint Money & Finance »

Stock Data » Indices · Mutual Funds · Mortgages · Present Value · Currency Conversion · Bonds · Derivatives Valuation · Wages · Sales Tax

Wolfram Alpha

So what?

Dates & Times » Date Computations · Time Zones · Calendars · Holidays · Geological Time

Places & Geography » Maps · Projections · Geodesy · Navigation · Distances · Geomagnetism · Geocoding · Countries · Cities · Elevation Data · Oceans · Lakes · Rivers · Islands · Mountains

Socioeconomic Data » Countries · U.S. States · Cities · Demographics · Economics · Trade · Salaries · Unemployment

Weather » Current & Historical Weather · Forecasts · Wind Chill · Hurricanes · Clouds · Standard Atmosphere

Health & Medicine » Body Measurements · Growth Charts · Exercise · Diseases · Mortality Data · Medical Test Data · Vision · Drug Data · Hospitals

Words & Linguistics » Dictionary Lookup · Anagrams · Word Puzzles · Morse Code · Soundex · Languages · Number Names

People & History » People · Genealogy · Names · Occupations · Political Leaders · Historical Dates · Historical Countries · Historical Numerals · Historical Money

Sports & Games » Football · Baseball · Lotteries · Card Games

Music » Musical Notes · Intervals · Chords · Scales · Songs

Colors » Color Names · Color Addition · Color Systems · Temperatures · Wavelengths

Wolfram Alpha

Examples

Calories in 300mg cooked macaroni

How old was Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva when Ayrton Senna was born?

Wolfram Alpha

Examples

Compare GDP per capita of Brazil with Mexico

1000 euros to R$

Wolfram Alpha

Examples

life expectancy Germany vs Japan

life expectancy vs deaths

Wolfram Alpha

Examples

sao paulo weather from May 2008 to May 2009

fuel cost 200 km, 11.5 kpl, $1.29/l

Wolfram Alpha

Examples

predicta.com.br

Wolfram Alpha

PredictaAtmosphereWeb Analytics

Examples

Jul 3, 1977 to May 28, 2009

next solar eclipse in sao paulo

Wolfram Alpha

Examples

green + orange

integrate cos(x) * pi

Wolfram Alpha

Examples

C6H5COOH

D major scale

Wolfram Alpha

Examples

GATTACAGACT

What is the meaning of life?

Wolfram Alpha

Issues

Scalability

Terms of Service"As Wolfram|Alpha is an authoritative source of information (...) Failure to properly attribute results from Wolfram|Alpha is not only a violation of these terms, but may also constitute academic plagiarism OR a violation of copyright law"

(currently) Limited Knowledge Base

Wolfram Alpha

Future?

How the computation of knowledge could be applied to your field? Suggest Data Sources, Facts, Algorithms, Models or User Data

Build Mashups usingWolfram's API

Accelerating Change , Technological Singularity & Ray Kurzweil: exponential increase in the rate of technological, social and cultural progress throughout history

Epistemology, theory of knowledge. How do we know what we know?What the #$*! do we know?

Wolfram Alpha

while (alive) { learn();

}

Wolfram Alpha

Escher, Gödel, Bach, by Douglas

Hofstadter

Hitchhiker's Guide

To The Galaxy, by Douglas Adams

A New Kind Of Science, by

Stephen Wolfram

Ghost In The Shell, by Mamoru

Oshii

π , by Darren

Aronofsky

"I have little doubt that within a matter of a few decades what I

have done will have led to some dramatic changes in the

foundations of technology - and in our basic ability to take what the

universe provides and apply it for our own human purposes."

Stephen Wolfram in A New Kind Of Science