#637: Stephen Wolfram — Personal Productivity Systems, Richard Feynman Stories, Computational Thinking as a Superpower, Perceiving a Branching Universe, and The Ruliad... The Biggest Object in Metascience

Brought to you by Tommy John premium underwear, Eight Sleep’s Pod Cover sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating, and ButcherBox premium meats delivered to your door. Stephen Wolfram (@stephen_wolfram) is the creator of Mathematica, Wolfram|Alpha and the Wolfram Language; the author of A New Kind of Science; the originator of the Wolfram Physics Project; and the founder and CEO of Wolfram Research. Over the course of more than four decades, he has been a pioneer in the development and application of computational thinking and has been responsible for many discoveries, inventions, and innovations in science, technology, and business. Please enjoy! This episode is brought to you by ButcherBox! ButcherBox makes it easy for you to get high-quality, humanely raised meat that you can trust. They deliver delicious, 100% grass-fed, grass-finished beef; free-range organic chicken; heritage-breed pork, and wild-caught seafood directly to your door. This Black Friday, your search for amazing deals on high-quality protein ends with ButcherBox. ButcherBox is offering my listeners one of their best steak deals: Free Rib Eyes for a Year, plus $20 off. Get two, 10 oz rib eyes FREE in every box for a whole year when you join, plus an additional $20 off! Sign up today at butcherbox.com/Tim and use code TIM to get Free Rib Eyes for a Year, plus $20 off. * This episode is also brought to you by Eight Sleep! Eight Sleep’s Pod Cover is the easiest and fastest way to sleep at the perfect temperature. It pairs dynamic cooling and heating with biometric tracking to offer the most advanced (and user-friendly) solution on the market. Simply add the Pod Cover to your current mattress and start sleeping as cool as 55°F or as hot as 110°F. It also splits your bed in half, so your partner can choose a totally different temperature. For a limited time, Eight Sleep is offering my listeners up to $450 off their Sleep Fit Holiday Bundle, which includes my personal favorite, the Pod 3 Cover. Go to EightSleep.com/Tim to get the exclusive holiday savings. Eight Sleep currently ships within the USA, Canada, the UK, select countries in the EU, and Australia. That’s EightSleep.com/Tim * This episode is also brought to you by Tommy John premium underwear! For men, Tommy John offers six different styles so you can find the one that suits you best. Their line of men’s briefs and boxers is one of my top choices for all-day comfort. I tested their Second Skin Mid-Length Boxer Brief and the Cool Cotton Trunk. Shop Tommy John’s Black Friday sale going on right now, and get 30 percent off sitewide at TommyJohn.com/Tim. See the website for details. * [06:58] How Stephen collects information for his vast personal archives. [08:40] When a situation warrants building a matrix. [12:31] Science sometimes makes us look far back to move incrementally forward. [17:49] Befriending the computational. [22:59] How technology helps us navigate natural language. [32:30] How Stephen chose subjects for his book Idea Makers. [35:09] On spending time with Richard Feynman. [37:33] Thoughts on Srinivasa Ramanujan. [39:57] When Stephen started solving science problems with computers. [42:00] Heresies today, gospels tomorrow. [50:14] Ruminations on the ruliad. [1:03:46] What is time? [1:12:03] What constitutes consciousness? [1:15:56] Personal infrastructure and productivity. [1:23:25] Maintaining energy in the midst of a busy life. [1:29:37] Avoiding once-inevitable sickness after air travel. [1:31:50] Making time count — in sickness and in health. [1:32:45] Parting thoughts. * For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast. For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday. For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts. Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books. 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