I recently watched two interesting talks on www.TED.com. It has an eclectic collection of talks by speakers all around the globe. The two speakers that got me thinking were Stephen Wolfram and George Whitesides. The former, a American chemist, talked about "Towards the Science of Simplicity. While the later, a mathematician, physicist & the developer of Mathematics, spoke on "Computing A Theory of Everything".
The talks were interesting from two aspects. One, both the speakers are trying to bare down a phenomenon or a system to its' basics Dr. Whitesides is moving towards simplifying things as he quoted Antoine de Saint-Exupery as "A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." He is working on creating a "lab" which is cheap and would be useful in quick diagnosis. While Dr. Wolfram is using mathematical computation to develop a computation engine for information (for more specifics check here).
However the part that attracted me was the other aspects of their talks. Dr. Whitesides talked about how humanity is always working towards creating complex systems. These systems are lost as purpose behind the creation is buried under the layers of complexity. Digressing a bit, but Michael Moore in his documentary Capitalism, A Love Story, asked bankers to define derivatives. But most of them were at loss of words! Scientists are searching for a "Unified Theory" and have developed the most complex of maths. Yet, scientists are unable to describe the workings of our brains.
Dr. Wolfram's Mathematica can create the most amazing patterns based on certain inputs. Yet the most amazing patterns existing in nature happen without any computation or a software. We have sent men on moon yet the concepts of life and soul are ineffable. So many chemical reactions, gravitational forces, electromagnetic energy and other forms of energy at work around and in us. Men have created complex engineering structures but most of the designs were inspired by nature. So next time you see the sun shining, or a tree giving you shade, or a waterfall marvel at the complex yet so simple design by its' Creator.
The talks were interesting from two aspects. One, both the speakers are trying to bare down a phenomenon or a system to its' basics Dr. Whitesides is moving towards simplifying things as he quoted Antoine de Saint-Exupery as "A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." He is working on creating a "lab" which is cheap and would be useful in quick diagnosis. While Dr. Wolfram is using mathematical computation to develop a computation engine for information (for more specifics check here).
However the part that attracted me was the other aspects of their talks. Dr. Whitesides talked about how humanity is always working towards creating complex systems. These systems are lost as purpose behind the creation is buried under the layers of complexity. Digressing a bit, but Michael Moore in his documentary Capitalism, A Love Story, asked bankers to define derivatives. But most of them were at loss of words! Scientists are searching for a "Unified Theory" and have developed the most complex of maths. Yet, scientists are unable to describe the workings of our brains.
Dr. Wolfram's Mathematica can create the most amazing patterns based on certain inputs. Yet the most amazing patterns existing in nature happen without any computation or a software. We have sent men on moon yet the concepts of life and soul are ineffable. So many chemical reactions, gravitational forces, electromagnetic energy and other forms of energy at work around and in us. Men have created complex engineering structures but most of the designs were inspired by nature. So next time you see the sun shining, or a tree giving you shade, or a waterfall marvel at the complex yet so simple design by its' Creator.
Attaboy, keep it up.
ReplyDeleteKevat Ram