Re: [Axiom-developer] Re: AMS Notices: Open Source Mathematical Software

[M. Edward (Ed) Borasky]

William Stein wrote:

> Whether or not a system can compete is determined by what actual real
> people really want and can afford when teaching or doing research.
> It's not at all clear to me that actual research mathematicians, teachers
> and engineers  want what you're describing above more than the
> other options they will have available.  In fact, I think it highly unlikely.

I can tell you what I want, but it's not something I think I'll ever see 
in my lifetime. I want a system that makes my research understandable as 
well as provably correct. I view what computational math will be in 20 - 
30 years, assuming that the hardware keeps on its present growth path, 
as the ability to solve larger problems of the same kind we solve now.

As I already noted, I haven't used Mathematica at all and Maple only 
briefly in the context of paid work. I have, however, used Excel, 
Minitab, and R extensively there, and will be moving on to SPSS in the 
near future. None of these tools, with the possible exception of R, 
really cater to the concepts of "literate programming", or, as the R 
people call it, "reproducible research". The point, however, is that a 
reproducible research "compendium" or literate program has to be 
readable and understood by the people who pay the bills.