How Stephen Wolfram’s Computational Ideas Changed My Perspective

Lately, I’ve been reading Stephen Wolfram’s work, and it’s seriously changed how I view the world—time, life, and even consciousness. He makes a strong case for the idea that everything in life follows simple computational steps. Whether we’re talking about the unfolding of time, the evolution of living things, or how we perceive reality, there’s this underlying principle that everything follows a set of basic rules. Yet from these rules, deep complexity emerges. And honestly, thinking about life this way has completely reshaped how I approach the everyday.

Time as a Computational Process

Wolfram’s take on time really resonates with me. For him, time isn’t this endless river flowing forward—it’s a series of computational steps. Each moment in time is like a calculation happening in real time, and you can’t skip any steps. This resonated with me because it emphasizes the importance of each moment. Everything we experience, every growth step, is crucial. There’s no jumping ahead; time has to unfold one step at a time.

That concept made me reconsider how I rush through things in life. Instead of always focusing on the next big goal, I’ve started to appreciate the importance of the process. Every moment matters because it’s part of a larger sequence, and without those steps, you don’t get to the final result.

Evolution: Small Changes Leading to Big Things

Wolfram extends this idea to biological evolution. He suggests that life isn’t driven by some overarching master plan but instead by simple rules and random mutations. What’s fascinating is that these small changes accumulate over time into complex forms of life. It made me reflect on how much of life is like this. We often want to control everything, but it’s the small, random moments—the ones we don’t plan for—that shape us the most.

Think about it: our lives aren’t linear paths, but more like a series of small decisions and chance events that end up leading to something greater. I’ve started to embrace that idea more, trusting that even when things seem random or out of my control, they’re still part of a much larger process.

The Observer Effect: We Only See Part of the Story

Now, let’s talk about Observer Theory, which ties everything together for me. According to Wolfram, we as humans only perceive a fraction of the complexity in the universe. Our brains simplify what’s happening so we can make sense of it, but there’s always more going on than we can see. This made me rethink how I view people, situations, and even myself. There’s always more depth, more complexity, more going on beneath the surface than what’s immediately visible.

It’s a humbling thought, and it’s also made me more open-minded. We never have the full picture, so why act like we do? It’s a reminder that the world—and life itself—is more intricate than we often give it credit for.

Consciousness: The Ultimate Computational Process

And in thinking about consciousness, it all comes full circle. He suggests that consciousness itself is a product of computational processes. Our brains are constantly taking in data, simplifying it, and turning it into something we can understand. This hit home because it reframes how I think about self-awareness and decision-making. Consciousness isn’t separate from the rest of the universe—it’s part of the same computational system that drives everything else.

This has changed how I approach personal growth and decision-making. Instead of thinking of my mind as separate from everything else, I now see it as part of a much larger system. Each thought, each decision, is just one more step in this endless computation we call life.

Life as a Step-by-Step Process

All of these ideas have reshaped how I live day to day. I’ve started to see life as this continuous process of small steps. Nothing happens all at once, and nothing is entirely random either. Every moment, every action, is part of a larger, more complex system. That’s given me more patience and more trust in the process. I don’t have to see the whole picture to know that things are unfolding exactly as they should.

And that’s the real takeaway: life is a computational journey, and the only way forward is through each step, even if we can’t predict exactly where it’s going. Whether it’s time, evolution, or even the way we think, everything follows simple rules that lead to complex outcomes. Understanding that has helped me embrace the randomness and complexity of life in a way I never did before.

In the end, we may never fully grasp the entire process, but we can appreciate the fact that we’re part of it. And while the steps may seem small and insignificant, they’re all leading us somewhere—one step at a time.

May peace be with all of us as we continue taking each step forward on our shared journey.