Wolfram Alpha Revisited

[REVENGE]

Now that Alpha is actually open for public usage, I'd like to share some first thoughts on the usefulness of this search engine.

First of all, describing it as a "computational knowledge engine" is fairly accurate. Imagine it as the core functionality of Mathematica coupled with an encyclopedia of facts and figures, wrapped in a natural language interpreter. As a student, it's usefulness is immense.

For example, I could input "Integrate(ln(sin(x^2)))", and Alpha will spit out a useful set of output, including a plot of the integral, and a series expansion since the indefinite integral can't be exactly defined. Although functionally, it's not as powerful as full fledged Mathematica, it is both easier to use and more importantly, free. It's also available anywhere I can access the internet with an HTML browser, meaning I could use it at an internet kiosk, or on my smartphone / MID.

I can type in natural language names of scientific constants, etc, and the engine will automatically try and match values for me, and perform any calculations I specify. For example, I tried "(mass of the earth)/(Mass of the Milky Way Galaxy)*(electron mass / elementary charge)*(human population)"

Nearly every common term I input returns a useful set of data. If I search "milk", I get a comprehensive list of physical properties and nutritional information. If I type "emmanuel", I get statistics on its use as a common name in the US, including the estimated fractional distribution of people in the US with that name, the estimated number of people alive with that name, etc etc.

And then there's the obvious comparison that is made between it and Google. Well, let me explain, that essentially, there is no comparison. Clearly, each engine serves its own purpose, with Google being an engine to search the web for web page content, and Wolfram Alpha an engine to gather data on subjects and/or do computational work.

Finally, Alpha is still somewhat limited in terms of the search terms it will recognize. For example, a search for "boston celtics" or "los angeles lakers" doesn't turn up any information / statistics at all. It's definitely still a work in progress, but it is also fairly impressive as it is.

[REVENGE]

Oh, and also.

EDIT: And holy fuck, its "Mathematica" capabilities are much more expansive that I suspected!

[AF]

It has no concept of moomins, I cried

[SinbadEV]

http://www38.wolframalpha.com/input/?i= ... ng+of+life
http://www38.wolframalpha.com/input/?i= ... d+by+seven
http://www38.wolframalpha.com/input/?i= ... +walk+down

Hurray a new source to determine whose right in trivial arguments!

[Otherside]

http://www38.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=BA+CA

[bobthedinosaur]

ba wins

[TheMightyOne]

Oh, and also.

EDIT: And holy fuck, its "Mathematica" capabilities are much more expansive that I suspected!

LOL, nice !

[bashar]

Interesting concept ; tho I'm not sure you can use it in real life except to give it a try.

[Gota]

Usefull stuff.

[imbaczek]

extremly useful in not doing maths homework. otherwise, neat but probably not so useful.

[jcnossen]

yeah, we're probably the last generation that learned proper calculus. In 10 years, all that matters is whether students are able to use wolfram alpha.

[REVENGE]

yeah, we're probably the last generation that learned proper calculus. In 10 years, all that matters is whether students are able to use wolfram alpha.

Have fun doing stuff like finding the determinant of a 5x5 matrix. Or doing a Fourier expansion with more than 10 terms.

[Erom]

yeah, we're probably the last generation that learned proper calculus. In 10 years, all that matters is whether students are able to use wolfram alpha.

That's what they said about slide rules, and about calculators that could do symbolic integration, and about google, ect. Just another tool - if you don't know the underlying theory, the truth will out - unless you're planning on providing w.a. on exams, and even then a clever teacher should be able to craft insightful questions.

[CarRepairer]

yeah, we're probably the last generation that learned proper calculus. In 10 years, all that matters is whether students are able to use wolfram alpha.

That's what they said about slide rules, and about calculators that could do symbolic integration, and about google, ect. Just another tool - if you don't know the underlying theory, the truth will out - unless you're planning on providing w.a. on exams, and even then a clever teacher should be able to craft insightful questions.

Well this is why (when I went anyway) written exams were worth 50-80% of the grade.

[PicassoCT]

Is there a way to exploit glitches? Can we crash it by endless calculating? DNS Questions anyone? This is the Intertubes, we have a nasty Reputation to loose..

[TheFatController]

http://www35.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=balance+formula

It was there all along...

[lurker]

But what do the terms stand for D:
C15H12F3NO4S

[JohannesH]

But what do the terms stand for D:
C15H12F3NO4S

(5-cyclopropyl-1,2-oxazol-4-yl)-[2-methylsulfonyl-4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]methanone

[rattle]

[PicassoCT]

It didn┬┤t get me something faster as light
it didn┬┤t deliver a winner when aksed for gametheory competition vs cooperation
it didn┬┤t recognize itself with the words i compute therefore i am ...
i admit it will be funny once you add a battle function like google has it..

eurofags vs. amerifags.. now beating each other with demographic statistics (it doesen┬┤t conclude anything- even doesen`t show the AgePyramids.. that machine is a very good calculator... nothing more)

I admit im impressed by it┬┤s use for statistic work... for students this is a goldmine, especially as it overs full acess to its sourcess, making it easy to get proof to quote