Gerard 't Hooft: Why the Universe Is a Deterministic Machine

Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal

Curt Jaimungal

Physics, Philosophy, Society & Culture, Science

4.6 • 606 Ratings

🗓️ 12 August 2025

⏱️ 91 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Gerard 't Hooft (Nobel laureate) argues quantum mechanics is wrong—the universe is a deterministic machine. He explores superdeterminism, cellular automata, and the implications for black hole information and hidden variables.0:00 Why Quantum Mechanics is Fundamentally Wrong5:00 The Frustrating Blind Spots of Modern Physicists11:27 The "Hidden Variables" That Truly Explain Reality17:00 The "True" Equations of the Universe Will Have No Superposition23:00 Our Universe as a Cellular Automaton30:02 Why Real Numbers Don't Exist in Physics39:14 Can This Radical Theory Even Be Falsified?46:29 How Superdeterminism Defeats Bell's Theorem58:19 't Hooft's Radical View on Quantum Gravity1:08:24 Solving the Black Hole Information Paradox with "Clones"1:14:00 What YOU Would Experience Falling Into a Black Hole1:20:17 How 't Hooft Almost Beat a Nobel Prize DiscoverySPONSORS:- YouTube Member (Early Access Videos): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdWIQh9DGG6uhJk8eyIFl1w/join- Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal- Crypto: https://commerce.coinbase.com/checkout/de803625-87d3-4300-ab6d-85d4258834a9- PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=XUBHNMFXUX5S4RESOURCES:- The Economist discount: I personally subscribe to The Economist. TOE listeners get 35% off the annual subscription. No other podcast has this! https://economist.com/TOE- Substack: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e- Gerard’s site: https://webspace.science.uu.nl/~hooft101/- Gerard’s papers: https://inspirehep.net/authors/1019113- Cellular Automaton Interpretation Of Quantum Mechanics [Book]: https://www.amazon.com/Cellular-Automaton-Interpretation-Mechanics-Fundamental/dp/3319823140- David Wallace [TOE]: https://youtu.be/4MjNuJK5RzM- Emily Adlam & Jacob Barandes [TOE]: https://youtu.be/rw1ewLJUgOg- Roger Penrose [TOE]: https://youtu.be/sGm505TFMbU- Conway’s Game Of Life: https://playgameoflife.com/- Julian Barbour [TOE]: https://youtu.be/bprxrGaf0Os- Emily Adlam [TOE]: https://youtu.be/6I2OhmVWLMs- Sabine’s video on Gerard: https://youtu.be/2kxoq5UzAEQ- Sabine Hossenfelder [TOE]: https://youtu.be/E3y-Z0pgupg- Tim Palmer [TOE]: https://youtu.be/vlklA6jsS8A- Carlo Rovelli [TOE]: https://youtu.be/hF4SAketEHY- Stephen Wolfram [TOE]: https://youtu.be/0YRlQQw0d-4- Bernardo Kastrup & Sabine Hossenfelder [TOE]: https://youtu.be/kJmBmopxc1k- Tim Maudlin [TOE]: https://youtu.be/fU1bs5o3nss- Jacob Barandes [TOE]: https://youtu.be/wrUvtqr4wOs- Ted Jacobson [TOE]: https://youtu.be/3mhctWlXyV8- Claudia De Rham [TOE]: https://youtu.be/Ve_Mpd6dGv8- Neil Turok [TOE]: https://youtu.be/ZUp9x44N3uE- Latham Boyle [TOE]: https://youtu.be/nyLeeEFKk04- David Kaiser [TOE]: https://youtu.be/_yebLXsIdwo- String Theory Iceberg [TOE]: https://youtu.be/X4PdPnQuwjY- Birth of Asymptotic Freedom [Paper]: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0550321385902068- How To Become A Good Theoretical Physicist [Article]: https://www.goodtheorist.science/index.html- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt- Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal features long-form, technically detailed interviews with leading researchers in physics, mathematics, consciousness, and philosophy, exploring topics at the level of active research. For academics, graduate students, and anyone seeking depth beyond popular science. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Quantum mechanics prediction is that totally wrong.
0:04.0	Picture reality as a cosmic pinball machine.
0:07.0	Every ball follows a deterministic path, no exceptions.
0:11.0	To Nobel laureate, Professor Gerard Toft,
0:14.0	the fact that we can't track all these balls is why we invented quantum mechanics,
0:19.0	effectively to handle our ignorance. This is quite a startling
0:24.2	proposal, especially from the winner of the Nobel Prize in 1999 for his work on the Electra Week
0:29.7	interaction. To the professor, there are no real numbers. There's no superposition, not even
0:35.5	wave functions, fundamentally.
0:42.7	Instead, there are these discrete cellular automata updating in quantized steps.
0:46.3	Today, we discuss why he thinks standard physics has it backward.
0:48.8	Particles don't exist in multiple states.
0:51.7	Cats aren't simultaneously dead and alive.
0:53.5	The universe never plays dice.
0:56.0	I'm Kurt Jai Mungle, and in this conversation,
1:02.3	we tackle super determinism, why seemingly absurd theories get more support than, ostensibly realistic ones, and how recognizing spacetime quantum clones solves the problems of black holes.
1:11.9	Professor, when we were speaking off air,
1:14.7	you mentioned to me that the crazier the proposal,
1:18.3	the easier it is to get accepted.
1:20.4	What did you mean by that?
1:22.6	Well, it happens very often, rather surprisingly.
1:25.6	If you come with a very simple theory or idea, then people
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