Ask HN: Whatever happened to Wolfram Alpha? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Whatever happened to Wolfram Alpha?

#171

Post by neltnerb » Sun, Nov 07, 2021, 12:14 AM UTC

GeorgeTirebiter wrote: post #123

neltnerb wrote: post #2

What do you mean? I used it to solve a nasty impedance network for the real and imaginary components yesterday and the solutions were accurate. Edit: Maybe it's just good enough that people treat it as a tool and see no need to market it. It consistently has worked fine-ish for years and is useful at what it does.

Could please share your query / code to do this? Seems like it would make a good Example. Thanks!

This is for two pairs of R/C in series ( R||C + R||C ).

Real:

https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=Real%28+%281%2F%281%2F...

Imaginary:

https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=Imaginary%28+%281%2F%2...

Edit: Sorry, I don't know how to make the search query text show up since it has special characters, probably best to just use the links to see the query.

Re: Ask HN: Whatever happened to Wolfram Alpha?

#172

Post by ProtoAES256 » Sun, Nov 07, 2021, 12:18 AM UTC

I use it often to calculate... Stuffs. They are great in calculating but I really need to envelope them with at least 6 layers of bracket for it to parse my equation correctly or it will use some weird notations/arrangements.

Re: Ask HN: Whatever happened to Wolfram Alpha?

#173

Post by spike021 » Sun, Nov 07, 2021, 12:20 AM UTC

I used it a lot more often back in college compared to now. Usually now it's for random one-off calculations I'm too lazy to do myself, like "how many weeks since 4/28" (my puppy's birthday).

Re: Ask HN: Whatever happened to Wolfram Alpha?

#174

Post by tammer » Sun, Nov 07, 2021, 12:21 AM UTC

I still use it regularly. the app is my go-to calculator.

it just hasn’t been updated in quite some time. there are a lot of ways the back end could support new UI features etc., but something seems to be holding it back.

Re: Ask HN: Whatever happened to Wolfram Alpha?

#175

Post by mejutoco » Sun, Nov 07, 2021, 12:29 AM UTC

einarvollset wrote: post #139

mejutoco wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do the same for basic calculations. I was surprised things like 9:00 EST in CET don‘t work in google search, but do in WA.

Works for me: https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=9%3A00%20EST%20in%20CE...

You are absolutely right. I misremembered. Using GMT does indeed work only on WA:

9:00 GMT-7 in CET

https://www.google.com/search?channel=fs&client=ubuntu&q=9%3...

https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=9%3A00+GMT-7+in+CET

Re: Ask HN: Whatever happened to Wolfram Alpha?

#176

Post by artursapek » Sun, Nov 07, 2021, 12:29 AM UTC

every wrote: post #170

5- wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

you might want to try units(1). https://www.gnu.org/software/units/units.html the input language is less flexible than wolframalpha/google, but i quickly got used to it. it's nice to have something local and reliable. you can also define custom units. i prefer using it in terse mode: $ units -t 0.03$/hr*1month 21.914532 US$ $ units -t 10TB/month Mbps 30.421214

Units advises there are 118.20896 smoots per furlong..

people still measuring in smoots smh

Re: Ask HN: Whatever happened to Wolfram Alpha?

#177

Post by [deleted] » Sun, Nov 07, 2021, 12:30 AM UTC

barabba wrote: post #165

onion2k wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wolfram isn't reporting how much protein you'll get from eating something; it's reporting how much there is in the bread. Protein assimilation depends on a huge range of factors, and varies significantly between individuals (based on everything from gut microbiome to health factors to how much you chew your food to your saliva production to... Well, it's a long list). There's no way a website could report the amount…

So you're saying that "fat people eat too much" is a statistically inaccurate statement?

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Whatever happened to Wolfram Alpha?

#178

Post by pugworthy » Sun, Nov 07, 2021, 12:35 AM UTC

antattack wrote: post #17

"how many 3mm circles pack in 15mm circle" WA offers answers with drawings. Google cannot do that. https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=how+many+3mm+circles+p...

Curiously it can't calculate it if you change 15mm circle to 15mm square.

Re: Ask HN: Whatever happened to Wolfram Alpha?

#179

Post by marcinzm » Sun, Nov 07, 2021, 12:41 AM UTC

onion2k wrote: post #147

thro1 wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just asked a friend about this: > 1 egg, two slices whole wheat bread, one slice of cheddar, two.. leaves of lettuce .. and he said it's wrong and useless (!) - giving me examples and numbers as: protein assimilability from bread is 40% etc. Is there a way to get correct answers from Wolfram regarding this ? ( assimilability of doesn't work) Edit: Excuse me, what's wrong with you downvoters - it's a legit question. O…

Wolfram isn't reporting how much protein you'll get from eating something; it's reporting how much there is in the bread. Protein assimilation depends on a huge range of factors, and varies significantly between individuals (based on everything from gut microbiome to health factors to how much you chew your food to your saliva production to... Well, it's a long list). There's no way a website could report the amount…

>This is something that actually annoys me immensely when people say "you eat too much!" to fat people. Two people can have the exact same diet and the exact same exercise regime, and if one assimilates particular foods more effectively they'll be getting more calories, and put on weight. Food intake is far more complex than many people believe.

I don't see why that statement is inaccurate. It's not "you eat more than me" but "you eat too much." As in you eat too much versus how much your body is able to burn of the calories it assimilates.

Re: Ask HN: Whatever happened to Wolfram Alpha?

#180

Post by chadcmulligan » Sun, Nov 07, 2021, 12:41 AM UTC

hawkjo wrote: post #153

antattack wrote: post #17

"how many 3mm circles pack in 15mm circle" WA offers answers with drawings. Google cannot do that. https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=how+many+3mm+circles+p...

This is amazing! The rest of this thread completely buried the lead. Delightful.

Hope I'm not sounding like a grammar nazi but its "buried the lede" I only recently discovered - the reason is really interesting - https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/bury-the-lede-...