Show notes
Join Curt Jaimungal as he welcomes Harvard physicist Jacob Barandes, who claims quantum mechanics can be reformulated without wave functions, alongside computer scientist Scott Aaronson. Barandes’ “indivisible” approach challenges the standard Schrödinger model, and Aaronson offers a healthy dose of skepticism in today's theolocution. Are we on the cusp of a radical rewrite of reality—or just rebranding the same quantum puzzles? As a listener of TOE you can get a special 20% off discount to The Economist and all it has to offer! Visit https://www.economist.com/toeJoin My New Substack (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.comListen on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/SpotifyTOEBecome a YouTube Member (Early Access Videos):https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdWIQh9DGG6uhJk8eyIFl1w/joinTimestamps:00:00 Introduction to Quantum Mechanics05:40 The Power of Quantum Computing36:17 The Many Worlds Debate1:09:05 Evaluating Jacob's Theory1:13:49 Criteria for Theoretical Frameworks1:17:15 Bohmian Mechanics and Stochastic Dynamics1:18:51 Generalizing Quantum Theory1:22:32 The Role of Unobservables1:31:08 The Problem of Trajectories1:39:39 Exploring Alternative Theories1:50:29 The Stone Soup Analogy1:56:20 The Limits of Quantum Mechanics2:01:57 The Nature of Laws in Physics2:14:57 The Many Worlds Interpretation2:22:40 The Search for New ConnectionsLinks Mentioned:- Quantum theory, the Church–Turing principle and the universal quantum computer (article): https://www.cs.princeton.edu/courses/archive/fall04/cos576/papers/deutsch85.pdf - The Emergent Multiverse (book): https://amzn.to/3QJleSuJacob Barandes on TOE (Part 1): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oWip00iXbo&t=1s&ab_channel=CurtJaimungal- Scott Aaronson on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZpGCQoL2Rk- Quantum Theory From Five Reasonable Axioms (paper): https://arxiv.org/pdf/quant-ph/0101012- Quantum stochastic processes and quantum non-Markovian phenomena (paper): https://arxiv.org/pdf/2012.01894 - Jacob’s “Wigner’s Friend” flowchart: https://shared.jacobbarandes.com/images/wigners-friend-flow-chart-2025- Is Quantum Mechanics An Island In Theory Space? (paper): https://www.scottaaronson.com/papers/island.pdf- Aspects of Objectivity in Quantum Mechanics (paper): https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/223/1/Objectivity.pdf- Quantum Computing Since Democritus (book): https://amzn.to/4bqVeoD- The Ghost in the Quantum Turing Machine (paper): https://arxiv.org/pdf/1306.0159- Quantum mechanics and reality (article): https://pubs.aip.org/physicstoday/article/23/9/30/427387/Quantum-mechanics-and-realityCould-the-solution-to- Stone Soup (book): https://amzn.to/4kgPamN- TOE’s String Theory Iceberg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4PdPnQuwjY- TOE’s Mindfest playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ7ikzmc6zlOPw7Hqkc6-MXEMBy0fnZcbSupport TOE on Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurtDiscord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs#science #theoreticalphysics Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
