WolframAlpha: A Magical Knowledge Engine

In summary, Wolfram|Alpha is a highly anticipated knowledge engine that has been receiving a lot of attention for its potential to revolutionize the way we access and process information. It promises to seamlessly integrate data and computation in a way that has not been seen before. Although it has faced some criticism and challenges, it has been praised for its impressive database and potential for various applications. Some users have been impressed with its capabilities, while others have found it lacking in certain areas. Overall, Wolfram|Alpha is an exciting development in the field of AI and has the potential to greatly impact the way we interact with information.
  • #106
This wouldve been great a couple of years ago when i was in high school!
 
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  • #108
That's weird. If you swap the a and the b it still solves for x(b)
 
  • #109
WA does a good job of assuming certain things, like:

http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=x''+++2+x'+-6+x+=+0"

which aides in user laziness,

but if you add a or b without specifying what the independent variable is, you should expect to get three possibilities, a(t), b(t) or x(t) and then it would have to solve all three. But it didn't happen like that, it just looks for an independent variable.
 
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  • #110
Competition. Find input that makes mathematica assume x is a function of 2
 
  • #112
Well I just discovered this website after reading a Popular Science article about it. It's sort of a cool idea, but it's basically useless for anything but an online calculator and fun facts about a limited number of topics. With expansion, I can see it being used for a quick way to look up physical properties and scientific constants, but right now even that capability is limited. Making it an engine that gives you an answer about anything is pretty ambitious IMO, but I suppose anything can be done with enough brainpower and computing power behind it...

All you can really do right now (besides solve mathematical equations which it does a pretty good job of, other than the fact you're not really sure how it was solved or how to get the result in a usable format) are things like type in "http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=United+States"") and get a somewhat simplistic comparison of the three, but it just doesn't give a whole lot of useful of hard to find information... I'm more likely to look something up using Google or Wikipedia honestly.

One thing that did grab my interest at first was their example "http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=steam 400F 60psi"" which looks up thermodynamic properties of steam at that state. Cool idea, but it deosn't give enough useful information right now. This might be a nice quick way to look up thermo values later on, but right now there just isn't enough there. It was able to look up R12, which I found promising, but all it gave were some simple values, nothing useful in a thermodynamics context.

Overall I'll be sticking with my usual sources for now, but this site does seem to have pormise as long as they focus their efforts a bit more on the "scientific," where numbers-based calculations are prolific.
 
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  • #113
Mech_Engineer said:
Well I just discovered this website after reading a Popular Science article about it. It's sort of a cool idea, but it's basically useless for anything but an online calculator and fun facts about a limited number of topics. With expansion, I can see it being used for a quick way to look up physical properties and scientific constants, but right now even that capability is limited. Making it an engine that gives you an answer about anything is pretty ambitious IMO, but I suppose anything can be done with enough brainpower and computing power behind it...

All you can really do right now (besides solve mathematical equations which it does a pretty good job of, other than the fact you're not really sure how it was solved or how to get the result in a usable format) are things like type in "http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=United+States"") and get a somewhat simplistic comparison of the three, but it just doesn't give a whole lot of useful of hard to find information... I'm more likely to look something up using Google or Wikipedia honestly.

One thing that did grab my interest at first was their example "http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=steam 400F 60psi"" which looks up thermodynamic properties of steam at that state. Cool idea, but it deosn't give enough useful information right now. This might be a nice quick way to look up thermo values late on, but right now there just isn't enough there. It was able to look up R12, which I found promising, but all it gave were some simple values, nothing useful in a thermodynamics context.

Overall I'll be sticking with my usual sources for now, but this site does seem to have pormise as long as they focus their efforts a bit more on the "scientific," where numbers-based calculations are prolific.

That was basically the response I had when I first saw Alpha-- pretty thin stuff, but with the potential to grow into something very useful. However, that was in April. Anyone in a position to say, has Alpha really improved any in the seven or so months it's been up?
 
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  • #114
Online Math Tool Recommendation: Wolfram Alpha

A Sample Input...

http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=67092479/8191

And, boom, just like that,you can figure out, for instance, the repeating decimal period of 67092479/8191... = 1365.

Want pi to 100 digits? No problem. Just enter into the search box N[Pi, 100] and you'll get the following...

3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375105820974944592307816406286208998628034825342117068

More or less, if you play around with it, you'll see that this is the equivalent of the Google Calculator on steroids...

Another example that brings up different info...

http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=e^(-phi^2)Raphie
 
  • #115


That's true. You can do much with that useful tool...
:smile:
 
  • #116
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  • #117
In the iphone version (not sure if there's a difference) "int sin x dx x=0 to 1" is recognized as the definite integral of sin x from 0 to 1, but "int f(x) dx x=0 to 1" is not recognized as integration.
 
  • #118
EnumaElish said:
In the iphone version (not sure if there's a difference) "int sin x dx x=0 to 1" is recognized as the definite integral of sin x from 0 to 1, but "int f(x) dx x=0 to 1" is not recognized as integration.

That is not an iPhone only problem, that is incorrect input formatting. If you replace "f(x)" with an actual function (like "sin x" in your first example) then it works fine.
 
  • #119
Mech_Engineer said:
That is not an iPhone only problem, that is incorrect input formatting. If you replace "f(x)" with an actual function (like "sin x" in your first example) then it works fine.

Also, if you replace f(x) with f'(x), it gives the correct answer: f(1)-f(0).
 
  • #120


Raphie said:
Wolfram Alpha... [is] a bit "fickle" and you've got to ask the question in the right way...

But that's interesting because it seems to defeat the entire point of Wolfram Alpha, doesn't it? I mean, the point of Wolfram Alpha is something like mathematica or a database engine except it allows you to phrase queries in natural language rather than having to learn some elaborate syntax. But if you have to learn to phrase the question in a particular idiosyncratic way, then we're back to just having a computational engine which can answer queries if you learn the syntax. We already had engines like that; for example, *mathematica*! The difference of course being that the syntax for mathematica is documented and it's possible to learn, whereas the syntax for Alpha is some mysterious hidden thing you can only just sort of guess at with trial and error, sometimes it will pick up what you're trying to say, sometimes it won't, with no clear pattern as to when or why...

Case in point...

Mech_Engineer said:
That is not an iPhone only problem, that is incorrect input formatting. If you replace "f(x)" with an actual function (like "sin x" in your first example) then it works fine.

I think it is valid formatting, Elish is trying to describe an integral of a function f where f is not presently known. The problem is whether it can interpret what you are trying to say. If you tell it "int f(x) dx" it correctly understands you are trying to describe an integral, it then presents the integral back to you and says "I don't know how to solve this", a totally sensible behavior. If you add the "from 0 to 1" back in though it just doesn't know how to interpret what you're saying at all. It would be unreasonable to expect something like wolfram alpha to be able to figure out any crazy thing you type in, but if "int f(x) dx" is valid syntax and "int sin(x) dx from 0 to 1" is valid syntax then why not "int f(x) dx from 0 to 1"?
 
  • #121


Coin said:
I think it is valid formatting, Elish is trying to describe an integral of a function f where f is not presently known. The problem is whether it can interpret what you are trying to say. If you tell it "int f(x) dx" it correctly understands you are trying to describe an integral, it then presents the integral back to you and says "I don't know how to solve this", a totally sensible behavior. If you add the "from 0 to 1" back in though it just doesn't know how to interpret what you're saying at all. It would be unreasonable to expect something like wolfram alpha to be able to figure out any crazy thing you type in, but if "int f(x) dx" is valid syntax and "int sin(x) dx from 0 to 1" is valid syntax then why not "int f(x) dx from 0 to 1"?

The formatting itself I suppose is valid, but do we really need to ding WA for not properly displaying an input which has no solution?
 
  • #123


Coin said:
But if you have to learn to phrase the question in a particular idiosyncratic way, then we're back to just having a computational engine which can answer queries if you learn the syntax. We already had engines like that; for example, *mathematica*!

I agree with all of your points, in general, Coin, including the above, but one nice thing about Wolfram Alpha is that a) it gives one "contextual clues" along the way about how to "ask it the right way," and b) personally speaking, it is a Godsend for the mathematically curious without proper formal training.

If I were a professional in one of the mathematically oriented sciences, I don't think I would be overly impressed with Wolfram Alpha, but as a non-professional, I view it as a vast improvement over, say, the Google Calculator.

A small case in point: Via trial and error I know that (Golden Ratio)^30 and (phi)^30 bring up very different results. That tells me a lot about "phi" as a "variable" vs. "phi" as a "number." And that's something I can build on.

Another (general) case in point: By presenting mathematical information in many ways of a piece, it gives one several "paths" by which to "connect" to the information presented. e.g. Even if one had never heard of Taylor Series, one could intuitively learn about them in principle just by inputting e^(-phi^2).Raphie
 
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<h2>1. What is WolframAlpha?</h2><p>WolframAlpha is a computational knowledge engine that provides instant answers and expert knowledge on a wide range of topics. It is not a search engine, but rather a tool that computes answers based on structured data and algorithms.</p><h2>2. How does WolframAlpha work?</h2><p>WolframAlpha uses a vast collection of curated data and powerful algorithms to compute answers to user queries. It also incorporates natural language processing and machine learning to understand and interpret user input.</p><h2>3. What can I use WolframAlpha for?</h2><p>WolframAlpha can be used for a variety of purposes, including solving mathematical equations, converting units, finding information about specific topics, analyzing data, and much more. It can also be used as a learning tool for students and professionals.</p><h2>4. Is WolframAlpha free to use?</h2><p>WolframAlpha offers both free and paid versions. The free version allows users to access basic features and data, while the paid version, called WolframAlpha Pro, offers additional features and more in-depth data for a subscription fee.</p><h2>5. Can WolframAlpha be used for academic or research purposes?</h2><p>Yes, WolframAlpha can be a valuable tool for academic and research purposes. It provides access to a vast amount of data and can help with data analysis, visualization, and computation. However, it is important to properly cite any information obtained from WolframAlpha in academic or research work.</p>

1. What is WolframAlpha?

WolframAlpha is a computational knowledge engine that provides instant answers and expert knowledge on a wide range of topics. It is not a search engine, but rather a tool that computes answers based on structured data and algorithms.

2. How does WolframAlpha work?

WolframAlpha uses a vast collection of curated data and powerful algorithms to compute answers to user queries. It also incorporates natural language processing and machine learning to understand and interpret user input.

3. What can I use WolframAlpha for?

WolframAlpha can be used for a variety of purposes, including solving mathematical equations, converting units, finding information about specific topics, analyzing data, and much more. It can also be used as a learning tool for students and professionals.

4. Is WolframAlpha free to use?

WolframAlpha offers both free and paid versions. The free version allows users to access basic features and data, while the paid version, called WolframAlpha Pro, offers additional features and more in-depth data for a subscription fee.

5. Can WolframAlpha be used for academic or research purposes?

Yes, WolframAlpha can be a valuable tool for academic and research purposes. It provides access to a vast amount of data and can help with data analysis, visualization, and computation. However, it is important to properly cite any information obtained from WolframAlpha in academic or research work.

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