Jacob Barandes and Emily Adlam: Why Many Worlds Is Nonsensical

Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal

Curt Jaimungal

Physics, Philosophy, Society & Culture, Science

4.6 • 606 Ratings

🗓️ 25 June 2025

⏱️ 136 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Emily Adlam and Jacob Barandes deliver a forceful critique of the Many‑Worlds Interpretation, arguing that it remains a philosophical fantasy without testable predictions or empirical grounding. The conversation also explores self‑identity, consciousness, and the role of probability in quantum theory, challenging common assumptions about parallel universes.- 00:00 - Introduction- 01:08 - Philosophical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics- 3:22 - The Nature of Self-Identity- 10:59 - Exploring Branching Universes- 12:54 - Collaboration Between Physicists and Philosophers- 16:51 - Understanding Probability and Credence- 29:12 - The Role of Indexicals in Consciousness- 36:36 - Causation and Its Implications- 45:45 - Disagreement on Personal Identity- 51:03 - The Hard Problem of Consciousness- 1:00:35 - Reflections on Conscious Experience- 1:08:05 - Concluding Thoughts on Mind and Identity- 1:08:48 - Time and Mind- 1:09:09 - The Concept of the World Line- 1:14:43 - Active Consciousness and Agency- 1:19:12 - The Hard Problem of Consciousness- 1:36:15 - Emergence in Physics- 1:55:46 - Speculation vs. Rigorous Argument- 2:06:13 - Philosophy's Contribution to Physics- 2:12:43 - Bridging Philosophy and PhysicsRESOURCES:- https://DrinkLMNT.com/THEORIES- I personally subscribe to The Economist. TOE listeners get 35% off the annual subscription. No other podcast has this! https://economist.com/TOE- Join My New Substack (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com- Watch on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e- Emily’s first appearance on TOE: https://youtu.be/6I2OhmVWLMs- Emily’s profile: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Emily-Adlam- Jacob’s first appearance on TOE: https://youtu.be/7oWip00iXbo- Jacob’s website: https://www.jacobbarandes.com/- Jacob Barandes on TOE: https://youtu.be/YaS1usLeXQM- Against Self-Location (paper): https://arxiv.org/pdf/2409.05259- Eddy Chen & Barry Loewer on TOE: https://youtu.be/xZnafO__IZ0- Julian Barbour on TOE: https://youtu.be/bprxrGaf0Os- Robert Sapolsky on TOE: https://youtu.be/z0IqA1hYKY8- Curt’s Consciousness Iceberg: https://youtu.be/65yjqIDghEk- Iain McGilchrist on TOE: https://youtu.be/Q9sBKCd2HD0- Stories of Your Life and Others (book): https://www.amazon.com/dp/1101972122- Matt Segall on TOE: https://youtu.be/DeTm4fSXpbM- TOE’s Free Will compilation: https://youtu.be/SSbUCEleJhg- Manolis Kellis & Jacob Barandes debate: https://youtu.be/MTD8xkbiGis- “The Incompatibility of Free Will and Determinism” (paper): https://iweb.langara.ca/rjohns/files/2013/01/van_inwagen.pdf- After Physics (book): https://www.amazon.com/dp/067497087X- Michael Levin on TOE: https://youtu.be/c8iFtaltX-s 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 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	I remember feeling quite shocked and upset about that.
0:02.3	At each moment, the universe splits.
0:04.0	There is no such thing as personal identity over time.
0:08.0	In this staggering and intense conversation,
0:11.3	Professor Emily Adlam and Harvard's Jacob Barndes
0:14.3	dismantled the many world's interpretation
0:16.6	by arguing that its promised elegance has been broken.
0:20.2	Even further, without a process that selects which quantum branch you experience,
0:25.4	you could believe almost anything about which future you'll become.
0:29.8	The probabilistic math gives no guidance.
0:33.1	As this conversation progresses, questions about what it means to be you in general are explored,
0:39.0	such as whether the you that wakes up tomorrow is really you at all. This conversation culminates
0:44.7	with explorations of consciousness and their passionate defense of philosophy in physics. Should
0:50.1	physicists avoid overly philosophical questions? Well, these questions led to quantum computing,
0:56.3	Bell's theorem, and decoherence theory,
0:58.4	as they reveal many major physics breakthroughs
1:01.4	involved philosophers and physicists working together.
1:05.6	Today, we need that collaboration again.
1:08.8	Enjoy this theolocation with Emily Adlam and Jacob Barndes.
1:13.4	All right.
1:14.8	What I'd like to know is what do you admire most about one another?
1:20.4	That's super easy.
	...

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