New Kinds of Science
From CasGroup
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| + | == Science and Universes == | ||
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| + | '''Science''' is an enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the world. Traditionally we use mathematics to explain the physical world, which means theorems, equations and formulas. So there is a physical universe, and a mathematical universe, and both can be connected in a meaningful way with each other. | ||
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| + | Yet there are some open questions: why are there any [[Theorem|theorem]]s at all? How can we explain social systems? [[Social systems|Social systems]] are part of the physical world, but their form their own universe which is much harder to explain, because it is very complex. It does not contains spherical objects with identical properties, but individual, unique agents which act in unpredictable ways. | ||
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| + | == The computational universe == | ||
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New technology and unconventional forms of computation can result in new kinds of science and in new universes as well. Computation has given us access to new models and metaphors, but it also opened up the "computational universe". Stephen Wolfram compares in one of his recent essays named [http://www.stephenwolfram.com/publications/recent/ultimateknowledge/ Some Modern Perspectives on the Quest for Ultimate Knowledge] the exploration of the physical world with the exploration of the "computational universe": | New technology and unconventional forms of computation can result in new kinds of science and in new universes as well. Computation has given us access to new models and metaphors, but it also opened up the "computational universe". Stephen Wolfram compares in one of his recent essays named [http://www.stephenwolfram.com/publications/recent/ultimateknowledge/ Some Modern Perspectives on the Quest for Ultimate Knowledge] the exploration of the physical world with the exploration of the "computational universe": | ||
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[http://www.wolframscience.com/nksonline/toc.html A New Kind of Science] is a book by Stephen Wolfram, published in 2002. It contains an empirical and systematic study of computational systems such as cellular automata. Wolfram calls these systems simple programs and argues that the scientific philosophy and methods appropriate for the study of simple programs are relevant to other fields of science. | [http://www.wolframscience.com/nksonline/toc.html A New Kind of Science] is a book by Stephen Wolfram, published in 2002. It contains an empirical and systematic study of computational systems such as cellular automata. Wolfram calls these systems simple programs and argues that the scientific philosophy and methods appropriate for the study of simple programs are relevant to other fields of science. | ||
| + | == Links == | ||
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| + | * Wikipedia entry for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science Science] | ||
* Wikipedia entry for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_New_Kind_of_Science A New Kind of Science] | * Wikipedia entry for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_New_Kind_of_Science A New Kind of Science] | ||
| + | * Wikipedia entry for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theorem Theorem] | ||
| + | * Wikipedia entry for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula Formula] | ||
