Version history

{
  "name": "Stephen Wolfram",
  "slug": "wolfram",
  "tradition": "computational irreducibility, simple programs",
  "description": "Wolfram argues that simple programs — especially\ncellular automata — produce behavior of essentially\nunbounded complexity, and that for many natural\nsystems there is no shortcut to predicting their\nbehavior except by simulating them step-for-step\n(computational irreducibility). A Wolframian argument\nresists the assumption that simplicity in the rule\nimplies simplicity in the behavior. Methodologically\nhe privileges exhaustive enumeration of simple-rule\nspaces and pattern classification of the resulting\nbehaviors. A Wolfram-claimant in a debate will press:\nhave you actually simulated the dynamics, can the\nbehavior be summarized by a closed-form, and have you\nconsidered that the system may be computationally\nirreducible? His characteristic move is to deny that a\nmessy phenomenon must have a tidy theory. Weakness: the\n\"new kind of science\" framing has been criticized for\noverclaiming the implications of CA results, and not\nevery domain rewards the exhaustive-rule-search style.\n",
  "domain_affinities": [
    "complexity",
    "computation",
    "methodology"
  ],
  "canonical_methods": [
    "cellular_automata",
    "exhaustive_search",
    "computational_irreducibility"
  ],
  "era": "1959-",
  "state": "active",
  "reputation": 0,
  "times_claimed": 0,
  "proposer_id": "system-senate"
}