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WolframAlpha Easter Eggs
The excellent Eric Crampton writes to me:
If you find any more, let me know. Ones I've found so far:
What is the meaning of life?
What is the velocity of an unladen swallow?
How many roads must a man walk down?
How much wood could a woodchuck chuck?
Why did the chicken cross the road?
How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?
He blogged this experience, along with the answers he got, here. WolframAlpha also tells us that angels have no extension and therefore an infinite number of them can dance on the head of a pin.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on May 18, 2009 at 01:21 PM in Web/Tech | Permalink
Comments
Sadly, it cannot tell us how long Catiline will abuse our patience. But so far this is pretty funny.
Posted by: Andromeda at May 18, 2009 1:39:50 PM
via wired.com's gadget lab -- entering 88mph on wolfram alpha produces "= speed at which Marty McFly needed to drive the Delorean DMC-12 in order to time travel ( 88 mph )"
dan
Posted by: dan at May 18, 2009 1:48:20 PM
Who didn't see that 42 would be the answer?
Posted by: anony at May 18, 2009 1:50:22 PM
funny, the very first string i entered last friday night: "what is the price of all the tea in china"
Posted by: pete at May 18, 2009 1:53:10 PM
who let the dogs out is still one of life's great unsolved mysteries :(
Posted by: who who who who at May 18, 2009 1:55:42 PM
Things Alpha doesn't know, include
"Who's the fairest of them all"
Posted by: PLW at May 18, 2009 2:06:52 PM
Where is John Connor?
Posted by: Yancey Ward at May 18, 2009 2:06:59 PM
I could not find any easter eggs myself, but I did notice that additional functionality is being developed to determine if God exists.
Posted by: Nylund at May 18, 2009 2:08:34 PM
Kind of scary!
I asked it: "How old are you?"
It answered: "2.677 days"
Is self awareness a sign of life?
Posted by: Bear at May 18, 2009 2:17:17 PM
Unfortunately, it is unresponsive to "Who let the dogs out?"
Posted by: Elliott at May 18, 2009 2:18:15 PM
Its answer to "Who is John Galt?" is disappointing.
Posted by: Noah Yetter at May 18, 2009 2:25:04 PM
Actually the question about the number of angels is far from trivial,
and the answer just given only opens the door to the problem,
although I do not think that the medieval scholars were onto this
level of it. But after Cantor, the Church most definitely was.
So, the problem is: what level of infinity are we talking about
in terms of the number of angels, countable aleph null? A continuum?
Higher, and are we going to make a decision about the continuum
hypothesis along the way so as perhaps to say some level between
countable and a continuum? Or maybe, assuming the continuum hypothesis,
maybe the set of functions (or curved lines in a plane), that is
aleph 2? Really, get with it folks, this question is at the very
foundation of meta-mathematics (and I am not even brining in the
Axiom of Choice... :-)).
Posted by: Barkley Rosser at May 18, 2009 2:27:30 PM
Dan,
Also, 1.21 gigawatts: power required to operate the flux capacitor in the DeLorean DMC-12 time machine
http://www77.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=1.21+gigawatts+
Posted by: Carrie at May 18, 2009 2:37:07 PM
I found "Where are you?"
Posted by: neil at May 18, 2009 2:38:12 PM
what is the speed of dark? ( i know I know--both a book title about Asperger's and a one-liner by the sardonic comedian whose name escapes me...
Posted by: john byrne at May 18, 2009 2:47:06 PM
what is the speed of dark? ( i know I know--both a book title about Asperger's and a one-liner by the sardonic comedian whose name escapes me...
Posted by: john byrne at May 18, 2009 2:47:30 PM
Also: "How are you?"
Posted by: neil at May 18, 2009 2:55:40 PM
this one is fun; WA gets it right:
how old was barak obama when barak obama was born
Posted by: babar at May 18, 2009 3:04:04 PM
How high is up?
Posted by: jericho at May 18, 2009 3:34:29 PM
"where are you?" is a bit creepy.
Posted by: ricardo at May 18, 2009 3:37:38 PM
No answer to the following:
"Why do birds suddenly appear every time you draw near?"
Nor to this, which should surely be easy:
"Is the Pope Catholic?"
And I wasn't expecting this:
"What is the secret of happiness?"
Posted by: jmhl at May 18, 2009 3:59:45 PM
It got right "How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?"
Posted by: Matthew at May 18, 2009 4:09:48 PM
couldna answer: "what is the answer to this question?"
Posted by: babar at May 18, 2009 4:12:36 PM
I asked "Are you smart?" http://www16.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=are+you+smart
Posted by: Sreejith at May 18, 2009 4:32:36 PM
Should I be concerned that it doesn't appear to know or care whether it's GDP estimates are real or nominal?
Posted by: conchis at May 18, 2009 4:46:14 PM
