Celebrating 35 Years of Mathematica

Join Stephen Wolfram as he celebrates the 35th anniversary of Mathematica, originally launched on June 23, 1988!
Originally livestreamed at: / stephen_wolfram
00:00 Start stream
10:40 SW starts talking
11:09 What happened on June 23, 1988?
13:27 What was included in a V1.1 of Mathematica box?
21:23 Mac SE/30 computer running V1 of Mathematica
28:48 How to open a nb created on a Mac SE/30 on a modern Macbook?
41:49 Running a a nb created on a Mac SE/30 on a modern Macbook
43:34 A look forward and the timeless goal of Mathematica.
44:07 What are the essential primitives of computation and what led to the idea for Mathematica.
56:26 How does one make a notation for computation and the mission of Wolfram Language.
1:02:54 The nature of computational language. How Wolfram Language works with LLMs with new chat notebooks and Wolfram|Alpha.
1:06:41 Computational thinking and it's application.
1:17:33 What do you take for granted on your computer?
1:19:18 What do I need to know about the computational world?
1:22:05 The future and Computation X
1:23:30 Personal connection and use of Wolfram Language. Discussing the Physics Project and NKS.
1:35:09 If you had asked in 1988, "What would this all look like 35 years from now." How does it compare to what Mathematica is today.
1:39:26 In the early days of Mathematica (and perhaps even today), were most people used to thinking of programs procedurally? Can you talk about people's reaction to learning to do functional programming?
1:45:38 Was there any point in those 35 years where you said "OK, time to close up shop, this won't work"?
1:51:44 What went into the launch of Mathematica in 1988? Was it months/years of planning?
1:57:25 What aspect of Mathematica are you most proud of and how has it influenced your approach to problem-solving?
1:58:22 What are some updates to Mathematica that you are looking forward to or would like to see incorporated?
2:02:10 On page 498 of the original Mathematica book, it says "...Mathematica itself was written using an object-oriented extension of the C programming language". Anything interesting to say about that?
2:06:19 ​Why was the .ma extension changed to .nb?
2:09:02 I kinda miss old computers because they forced you to focus on the task at hand.
2:09:33 Will LLMs themselves carry the torch forward of making everything computational? Define their own useful symbolic expressions?
2:10:56 Have you ever, in the past 35 years, written some pen and paper mathematics... on paper?
2:12:39 What's the number one function you would like to add but seems unfeasible with the current technology?
2:15:46 What will you think Mathematica will be like in 10 years time?
2:16:18 What are some of the most unusual applications of Mathematica you have encountered?
2:27:02 How did you get the first funding to make Mathematica? Did you always know it would be successful?
2:33:27 ​Did you ever consider just working at Symbolics Inc. on Macsyma (or the like) instead of building your own tools?
2:43:07 100 years from now, how do you envision Wolfram's continued enhancements to Mathematica and other future computational languages - how will the organization continue?
2:47:16 The SE/30 was the first computer I used to run Mathematica. I had gotten it in April 1989, and had 8 Mbytes RAM. I later upped that to 20.
2:48:53 Do you see VR/AR in Mathematica's future?
2:50:05 It sounds hard to come from single computer computation to cloud like environment.
2:54:12 What are a few of the most important fundamentals of Wolfram Mathematica of which most people are unaware? What uses are there that you'd like to see better/more widely explored? Any favorite moments?
2:56:00 AI in the 70s must have been terrifying.
2:58:50 I think we'll get a pretty good AI Stephen to live on. He's left behind tens of thousands of hours of video.
2:59:56 The Stephen Bot will endure.
3:01:29 End stream
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[@jimlarkin7603]

Thank you sir.

[@l3lixx]

In 1994, one of my physics professors managed to incorporate Mathematica 3.0 into our curriculum by introducing a pilot Computational Physics course. We were given access to an advanced copy of 'A Physicist's Guide to Mathematica' (check for our mention included in the preface). For my final project in that class, I developed a Mathematica program to calculate the wavelength and lifetime of Alpha decay based on the atomic number of the source. This experience sparked a lifelong love affair with physics, computers, and, particularly, the remarkable capabilities of Mathematica.
Starting in 1997, I began working as a design engineer at RCA, where I had the opportunity to utilize Mathematica to tackle a wide range of problems in the CRT industry. From electromagnetic shielding and differential geometry to surface modeling of front panel glass curvature analysis and electron-optic lens design for lithographic etching, Mathematica proved invaluable. It seamlessly integrated into our entire workflow, from collecting automated measurement data in the lab to generating polished presentation graphics for the boardroom. Only the large ANSYS and 3D-CAD packages remained untouched by its reach. However, by the time I started to use Mathematica custom application packages to take over many of their operations, the CRT R&D sector at RCA was shut down due to the emergence of flat-screen TVs.
In 2006, I had the privilege of joining Wolfram Research, and relocating to Champaign felt like a natural step. Since my RCA days, I had been a regular attendee at the Mathematica Technology Conference. My initial contributions at Wolfram Research focused on scientific data formats for the Import function and the introduction of Load-on-Demand Curated Data in Mathematica 6.0.
My work on Curated Data systems eventually led me to a position with Wolfram|Alpha in 2008. Among other responsibilities, I developed interfaces for data curators in Mathematica. These systems empowered Mathematica's capabilities in the scientific and social sciences, shaping the content for DictionaryLookup, CountryData, ChemicalData, ElementData, ExampleData, SpeciesData, FoodData, FinancialData, WeatherData, TropicalStormData, and EarthquakeData. The most rewarding aspect of working at Wolfram|Alpha has been witnessing the astonishment of users as they discover the vast possibilities enabled by Mathematica.
I extend my heartfelt congratulations to Mathematica (Wolfram Desktop) on its remarkable 35-year journey. Looking ahead to the next 35 years, I am filled with anticipation to witness Mathematica's continued ability to amaze and accomplish great feats. It will undoubtedly remain an indispensable tool, driving groundbreaking discoveries and advancements across various fields.

[@tucuxi313]

Congratulations for your truly groundbreaking work.

[@vargulavideo]

At 65 I am a first-time learner of Mathematica. Thank you for your inspiration to learn it.

[@William-B]

The demo was pretty hilarious
13:58 - tossing the TOS. Some things never change
18:53 - 3d print of the save icon
23:21 - the amount of time it takes to calculate 2+2
28:51 - the dead bug
31:48 - another disk in the drive
33:11 - HUMPF!!!
😂😂😂

[@fnw65]

My all time favorite software and probably the only one I will still use in 35 years at the tender age of 92 🤩 when everybody else will leave computation to their bot 🤪

[@_ARCATEC_]

Deploying Poetic Technology. 🤓🖌️

[@user-ch3ru4rn1k]

With this article, we set out to show which mindsets and practices are proven to make CEOs most effective.

[@ShitWrangler]

01:09:25 aint that the truth