Wolfram Alpha

[flouran]

Originally Posted by xilman

He wasn't especially modest back then. Undoubtedly very smart, though.

Didn't Wolfram publish his first paper on particle physics in 1975 (when he was only 16 years old)?

[henryzz]

Originally Posted by ET_

Gotta wait WolframBeta...

Luigi

actually you just need to click on the more digits link several times

[Batalov]

...and it works for 10^501, too, but for
http://www44.wolframalpha.com/input/...02%29-10%5E502 => nada!

That's very disappointing, because it is fairly trivial to prestidigit in your head that the answer is 3129.

[ixfd64]

nextprime(2^43112609-1)

Computation timed out.

.

[sichase]

Originally Posted by R.D. Silverman

Wolfram is not known for modesty.

Another data point:

I went to grad school and was good friends with a very talented young mathematician named Elise Cawley. Years later she went on to marry Stephan Wolfram. Elise was the one of most down-to-earth level-headed people I have ever known. If she is willing to spend time with Wolfram, then I absolutely believe he is a very decent person when the cameras are not on him.

[CRGreathouse]

Originally Posted by sichase

If she is willing to spend time with Wolfram, then I absolutely believe he is a very decent person when the cameras are not on him.

Fair enough.

[alpertron]

Ok, I've just asked to the "oracle": nitrogen in air. The "interpretation line" reads is nitrogen in dry air and his answer was no.

Not very smart. Isn't it?

[10metreh]

Right then - I searched "Is x-1 a factor of x^7-1?", and I get "Input interpretation: factor x-1a x⁷-1", with no answer. Seems it's not going to pass the Turing Test...

[flouran]

Originally Posted by 10metreh

Right then - I searched "Is x-1 a factor of x^7-1?", and I get "Input interpretation: factor x-1a x⁷-1", with no answer. Seems it's not going to pass the Turing Test...

Perhaps Wolfram|Beta will pass the Turing test
10metreh, you've heard of those online bots with whom one can hold a conversation with? It would be quite interesting if Wolfram included those capabilities in a subsequent release of his computational engine (but I doubt most people would agree that that would qualify as "interesting").

[retina]

Why is everyone trying to find ways to fool it? I am sure it can be useful for many purposes.

It would seem more sensible to be looking for ways in which it performs well. What use is a bunch of posts that only talk about failures?

So how about, instead, posting something where WA really shines?

[Brian-E]

Alex G. Bell, in his 1978 book "The Machine Plays Chess?", recalls an amusing account of one of the very earliest programs (ELIZA) which could apparently carry on a conversation in English even though it had no idea what it was "talking" about. In this incident Eliza "passed the Turing test with flying colours".

Apparently a student went into the AI office of his technology institute in 1968 to use one of the online teletypes as they were known in those days. There was one apparently free but the terminal had a notice taped on it reading "computer time reserved by Dan Bobrow".

The student sat down and tried to link to Bobrow's home terminal. Thinking he had succeeded, but having in fact linked to Eliza, he had the following conversation:

Student: May I use your computer time?

Answer: Do you want to use my computer time?

Student: Yes.

Answer: I understand.

Student: Are you coming in tonight?

Answer: Why do you want to know if I am coming in tonight?

Student: Because I want to use the computer!!!

Answer: I see.

Student: Well?

Answer: What do you mean, "Well"?

Student: Well, what's your answer?

Answer: Let's explore further why you want to use the computer.

Bell recounts that this conversation continued for a further 10 minutes with increasing frustration on the student's part, after which he rushed to a telephone and dialled Bobrow's home number, rousing him from sleep.

Student: What the heck do you think you're doing?

Bobrow: What do you mean, what the heck do I think I'm doing?