I have from time to time argued that 'mathematical literacy' and intellectual productivity could (and should) be radically altered by wide social access to good, easy to use, computer algebra power tools. Quite apart from anything else, science needs a next generation which is familiar with computerised mathematics. Wolfram, to its credit, has made several explorations in this direction – notably Mathematical Explorer, which presented big ideas from the history of mathematics through an exploratory interface and A New Kind of Science Explorer, which invites users to play with the ideas put forward in Stephen Wolfram's book. There was also Calculation Center, which offered a 'lite' version of Mathematica itself.
With release of the Home Edition, Wolfram goes further and places the entire full Mathematica product in the hands of private individual users at an affordable price. [more...]
