Product Review:
Wolfram Research’s Mathematica 5
by Mitchell Levine

As a science and technology editor for a New York City-based education trade, I get to examine and evaluate a lot of software. Something on the order of several first-rate products, and even operating systems, every month. It’s pretty rare that anything really impresses me. It’s even more rare to genuinely surprise me, or even mildly divert me. But what almost never happens at this late date is that a suite of applications proves to be so truly deep and inexhaustible in its resources that I’m absolutely overwhelmed. Almost.

Every rule has its exception, and Wolfram Research’s latest build of their venerable technical package Mathematica can probably calculate every single one. Originally created by its programmer and company CEO Steven Wolfram—a man who published his first papers on particle physics in respected journals at the age of 15—to assist him in his research, the software has evolved to the point of simply being a systematic universal assistant, teacher, and even language for inquiry and expression in the exact sciences. It can typeset, graph, calculate, analyze, and automate just about any type of quantitative method or process.

A partial listing of the new features available in the current release would include: an advanced set of algorithms and numeric data analysis features; what is apparently the fastest engine for linear algebraic calculations on the market; integrated solvers for regular and partial differential equations and inequalities; vast graphing and calculating capabilities; an extensive set of fonts for technical typography; an enormous library of functions and formulae; and a custom-built version of Visual Basic specifically created for programming macros, and even personal applications, within the suite.

However, unlike many specialty products created for the hardcore scientist or academician, the company sponsors a number of different products and programs for students and teachers. Mathematica for Students, for example, offers virtually the entire functionality of the professional version, as well as a diverse number of on-line learning resources, at a small fraction of the list price. Another program is designed for homeschooling families that would like to take advantage of a powerful pedagogic aid at a reduced price.

In addition to the software itself, the Mathematica user also gets access to everything the Wolfram Research site has to offer. A quick launch of the online presence reveals an enormous variety of value-added enrichment, including virtual tutorials, a voluminous number of articles, notebooks, e-books, and other materials teaching mathematics, physics, economics, applied and discrete mathematics, and even the advanced use of the software itself, as well as demos, graphs, and animations supporting and explicating the various concepts involved.

Although developing proficiency with the interface has a somewhat steep learning curve, and the true analysis lover may run the risk of terminal over stimulation and/or addiction, I really can’t emphasize enough what a truly incredible adjunct this product is for anyone learning, teaching or just interested in science and mathematics. The reader is enthusiastically encouraged to check it out for themselves on the company’s site at www.wolfram.com.#

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