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What Is a Computational Essay?—Stephen Wolfram Writings

writings.stephenwolfram.com · 7,355 words · saved by 1 readers

People are used to producing prose—and sometimes pictures—to express themselves. But in the modern age of computation, something new has become possible that I’d like to call the computational essay. I’ve been working on building the technology to support computational essays for several decades, but it’s only very recently that I’ve realized just how central computational essays can be to both the way people learn, and the way they communicate facts and ideas. Professionals of the future will routinely deliver results and reports as computational essays. Educators will routinely explain concepts using computational essays. Students will routinely produce computational essays as homework for their classes. Here’s a very simple example of a computational essay: There are basically three kinds of things here. First, ordinary text (here in English). Second, computer input. And third, computer output. And the crucial point is that these all work together to express what’s being communicate

Contents Top A Powerful Way to Express Ideas An Example Practicalities A New Form of Student Work Any Subject You Want What Makes a Good Computational Essay? Learning the Language The Long Path to Computational Essays Ancient Educational History The Path Ahead What Is a Computational Essay? What Is a Computational Essay? November 14, 2017 A Powerful Way to Express Ideas People are used to producing prose—and sometimes pictures—to express themselves. But in the modern age of computation, something new has become possible that I'd like to call the computational essay . I’ve bee

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