Jacob Barandes: There Is No Quantum Multiverse (Here's the Proof)

Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal

Curt Jaimungal

Physics, Philosophy, Society & Culture, Science

4.6 • 606 Ratings

🗓️ 18 February 2025

⏱️ 169 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Curt Jaimungal talks with Harvard physicist Jacob Barandes about the foundations of quantum mechanics, wave‑particle duality, and Jacob’s proposal of an indivisible stochastic formulation. The conversation also revisits historic debates from Schrödinger to Einstein and explores new directions for quantum theory.0:00 Introduction to Quantum Mechanics6:01 Wave-Particle Duality Explained8:44 Distinctions Between Waves10:36 Quantum Field Theory Insights15:10 Research Directions in Quantum Physics24:27 Challenges in Quantum Field Theory31:38 Quantum Mechanics vs. General Relativity35:47 Fluctuations in Spacetime45:09 Probabilistic General Relativity54:00 Bell's Theorem and Non-Locality1:20:48 The Nature of Causation in Physics1:23:52 Causation in Modern Science1:30:26 Reichenbachian Factorization Debates1:31:44 Bell's Theorem Evolution1:35:45 Indivisible Stochastic Approach1:38:17 Understanding Entanglement1:42:28 Information and Black Holes1:45:44 Phase Information Loss1:49:03 Heisenberg and Copenhagen Interpretation1:52:29 The Nature of Electrons1:53:09 Exploring Open Research Questions1:59:09 Probabilities in Statistical Mechanics2:11:30 Problems with Many Worlds Interpretation2:27:42 Challenges of Probability in Many Worlds2:35:14 The Case for a New Interpretation2:43:11 Building a Collaborative ReputationSPONSORS:- I personally subscribe to The Economist. TOE listeners get 35% off the annual subscription. No other podcast has this! https://economist.com/TOE- Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/SpotifyTOE- YouTube Membership (Early Access Videos): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdWIQh9DGG6uhJk8eyIFl1w/join- Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungalRESOURCES:- Watch Part 1 of this conversation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaS1usLeXQM- Jacob's talks covering many of his points in this conversation: https://www.youtube.com/@JacobBarandesPhilOfPhysics- Jacob's first appearance on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oWip00iXbo- New Prospects for a Causally Local Formulation of Quantum Theory (Jacob's paper): https://arxiv.org/abs/2402.16935- The Stochastic-Quantum Correspondence (Jacob's paper): https://arxiv.org/abs/2302.10778- Schrodinger's wave function paper (1926): https://github.com/yousbot/Quantum-Papers/blob/master/1926%20-%20E.%20Schrodinger%2C%20An%20Undulatory%20Theory%20of%20the%20Mechanics%20of%20Atoms%20and%20Molecules.pdf- The Born-Einstein Letters (book): https://www.amazon.com/Born-Einstein-Letters-1916-1955-Friendship-Uncertain/dp/1403944962/- Probability Relations Between Separated Systems (paper): https://www.informationphilosopher.com/solutions/scientists/schrodinger/Schrodinger-1936.pdf- John Bell on Bertlemann's socks (paper): https://cds.cern.ch/record/142461/files/198009299.pdf- John Bell on the Einstein Podolsky Rosen paradox (paper): https://journals.aps.org/ppf/pdf/10.1103/PhysicsPhysiqueFizika.1.195- Can Quantum-Mechanical Description of Physical Reality Be Considered Complete’? (paper): https://journals.aps.org/pr/pdf/10.1103/PhysRev.47.777- Causation as Folk Science (paper): https://sites.pitt.edu/~jdnorton/papers/003004.pdf- Substack (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com- 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	We don't have a single interpretation of quantum mechanics. It doesn't have serious problems.
0:06.1	I traveled to the oldest laboratory in the United States to meet with theoretical physicist Jacob
0:11.2	Barnes at Harvard. He's the co-director of the Graduate Studies Department there. We delved into
0:16.1	the technical depths of his innovative reformulation of quantum theory based on more fundamental
0:20.3	mechanisms called indivisible stochastic processes. My name is Kurt Jaimungle and this was depths of his innovative reformulation of quantum theory based on more fundamental mechanisms
0:20.9	called indivisible stochastic processes. My name is Kurtzai Mungle, and this was part of my
0:25.5	three-day tour at Harvard Tufts and MIT, where I recorded five podcasts. One of them you're
0:30.6	seeing now with Jacob Arndes. It was actually over seven hours long, so we're splitting it
0:35.0	into two parts, and this is part two. Part one is also
0:37.9	linked in the description. The others are with Mike 11, Anna Chowneka, Manolis Kellis, and
0:43.3	William Hahn. Subscribe to get notified. In this episode, we talk about what are the misconceptions
0:48.3	of the wave particle duality and entanglement? Is gravity indeed quantum? What about non-locality and Bell's theorem? And what exactly
0:56.1	are indivisible stochastic processes? Kurt, it's good to see you again. Good to see. It's been so long.
1:03.9	Wave particle duality. What is that? All right. So, when Schrodinger introduced the idea of his wave function in that paper in early
1:14.3	1926, building out of Hamlet Jacobi theory, his undulatory theory of mechanics, this wave
1:19.4	function that lived in high dimensional configuration space, he had provided a new methodology,
1:26.4	a technique for computing things in quantum mechanics.
1:28.3	He used the wave functions an indirect way to calculate energy levels. What are the energy levels of atoms, which then corresponded to the frequencies of radiation that came out of atoms?
1:40.3	Einstein had a lot of problems with this. So did Heisenberg. One of the few things that Einstein and
1:46.3	Heisenberg agreed on was they didn't really like Schrodinger's wave mechanics, metaphysically speaking.
1:52.7	Einstein, I think, said that physics had been fully Schrodingerized at this point. And part of the
2:00.4	reason that Einstein in particular was concerned was because Schrodinger
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