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Stephen Wolfram looks back at 'A New Kind of Science,' 10 years on

Stephen Wolfram looks back at 'A New Kind of Science,' 10 years on

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Stephen Wolfram reflects on the impact of 'A New Kind of Science' 10 years on.

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Stephen Wolfram's A New Kind of Science (NKS), published 10 years ago this week, was one of the first books to suggest that the future of scientific research could lie in so-called "simple programs." In NKS, Wolfram suggests that by applying concepts learned in the computational universe to wider research other scientists might develop ideas far faster, or approach them from alternative angles. As part of the 10th anniversary, Wolfram has posted articles reflecting on the impact of NKS, the scientific community's reaction to it, and its future. A change has been made to Wolfram Alpha, too: rather than showing the circling dots as it computes your problem, it will now show one of the cellular automatons that form a key part of NKS's arguments.