Email This StorySearch engine leaps beyond common abilities
Nov. 19, 2009
By Jenna Thompson
Reporter
The Baylor community has been exploring the use of Wolfram Alpha, a computational knowledge engine with more than 10 trillion pieces of data. Wolfram Alpha was launched on the Internet on May 15, and since then, users have been taking advantage of this Web site by entering any kind of question or topic and receiving answers and breakdowns of data in return.
Wolfram Alpha is different from other search engines, like Google, because it does not search for other articles or Web sites. Wolfram Alpha uses a series of algorithms and data to formulate specific answers to questions asked about any subject, from geography to math.
For example, if someone were to type a country's name into Google's search engine, it would pull up article and Web sites that mention that country. If a person were to type a country's name into Wofram Alpha's search engine, it would pull up factual information about that country such as population size and geographical information.
"As opposed to a search engine, we like to actually search for information that has already been put into our databases," said Said Hamideh, member of the Academic Outreach Team with Wolfram Alpha. "We use that to compute information to answer the question."
Wolfram Alpha is a Web site that is open to all people, and free for noncommercial purposes.
Wolfram Alpha's long-term goal is to make all book knowledge immediately computable and therefore accessible to everyone, according to the Wolfram Alpha Web site. The developers seek to make it a source that can be relied on by anyone for definitive answers to factual queries.
Ellen Filgo, a Baylor e-learning librarian, wrote about Wolfram Alpha on her Baylor Library 411 blog, highlighting its versatility.
"They also list ways to help you with engineering, calculus, and even spring break plans and battling the freshman 15. I'd encourage you to check out Wolfram Alpha and see for yourself what kind of computational power it has," Filgo wrote in her blog.
Wolfram Alpha is a constantly expanding Web site, and the creators believe it will have an effect on the way students study.
"We are such a new service, but at the same time we believe that this is going to change the game in academia," Hamideh said. "The goal [for the site] is to become comprehensive."
Users compare the Web site to Google or other question-answer sites that students use to find information.
"I remember when it first debuted, people called it a 'Google-killer,'" Filgo said. "But it's not as much about search; it's about interpreting data."
Some questions and concerns have been raised in the academic world concerning the implications of students abusing such a database. If a user enters a chemical equation or a math problem into the Web site, the answer is produced.
However, the steps to finding the answer are displayed on the site as well, serving as a teaching tool.
"I suppose a student could just literally copy and paste. That's what makes educators nervous," Hamideh said. "It began to be an issue when the calculator was invented, but teachers adjusted by incorporating calculators into the classroom. For students who don't cheat, the tool is great because it helps students to check their proof quicker and visualize concepts."
Students have similar thoughts on the knowledge engine and its uses for studies.
"I can understand where the professors are coming from, but if a student is going to cheat, they're going to do it one way or another," said Bedford junior Catherine Gibson, a user of Wofram Alpha. "Technology makes it easier to cheat, but it also makes it easier to learn; it's a double-edged sword."
The information on Wolfram Alpha is collected from cited sources, including data that was purchased by the company from databases.
The Web site was built with Mathmatica, a program that provides its base code.
Mathmatica itself has been developed by the same company over the past 20 years, and Wolfram Alpha relies on supercomputer-class compute clusters, according to the Wolfram Alpha Web site.
"I've seen a lot of people that are very positive about it," Hamideh said. "We are aggressively trying to expand into new areas. Eventually it won't just be hard sciences. It will include information on books, documents and letters."
Regardless of the way in which it is used, sources agree that Wolfram Alpha is a powerful tool.
"It would be really helpful if you can't get a tutor," Gibson said. "It's not just giving you the answers; it helps you find out how it got there."
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