"A New Kind of Science" is the name for
the major approach to science defined by Stephen
Wolfram's bestselling 2002 book A
New Kind of Science. It is also often known by the acronym
"NKS," or just as "Wolfram Science." It's already developed a large following in the scientific community, as
well as in technology, business, arts, and humanities. It's widely
viewed as initiating a major paradigm shift--with some of the usual
attendant issues--whose consequences will unfold over many years.
For more than three centuries, the exact sciences have been largely based
on the paradigm of using mathematical equations. The major shift that
underlies NKS is the idea of generalizing this, to consider all the kinds
of rules that can be embodied in computer programs. The field of "pure
NKS" is concerned with exploring the abstract computational universe of
possible such programs. A major discovery is that even among very simple
programs (such as Wolfram's "rule 30") there can be almost arbitrarily
complex behavior--and A New Kind of Science shows that this is
where many of the most mysterious examples of complexity in nature come from.
Studying the computational universe immediately suggests new models for
all sorts of physical, biological, social, and other systems--as well as a
promising new approach to finding a truly fundamental theory of physics.
It also casts a remarkable range of longstanding foundational questions
from science, mathematics, and philosophy in a new light--and ultimately
suggests a whole new conceptual framework based on unifications such as
the Principle of Computational Equivalence.
Computing has traditionally involved using engineering methods to
build specific programs. NKS suggests instead systematically
exploring all possible simple programs--allowing programs that operate
in completely unexpected ways to be discovered. For most of history,
technology has taken its raw material from the natural world. NKS
introduces a new approach, based on "mining" the computational
universe. WolframTones is a consumer-oriented early direct
application. Many more will come, often almost bizarrely diverse and
unexpected, and spanning an immense range of media, materials, and
industries.
The best way to start really learning about NKS is to read A
New Kind of Science. It's also important to develop intuition
by doing your own computer experiments with Mathematica (or A New
Kind of Science Explorer). NKS provides a tremendous range of
opportunities--not only in research, development, and the arts, but
notably also at all levels in education.
