In this episode Curt Jaimungal talks with Harvard physicist Jacob Barandes, who proposes a wave‑function‑free reformulation of quantum mechanics, and with computer scientist Scott Aaronson, who offers a skeptical perspective. They explore whether the new “indivisible” approach reshapes our understanding of reality or simply repackages existing puzzles.

- 00:00 - Introduction to Quantum Mechanics
- 05:40 - The Power of Quantum Computing
- 36:17 - The Many Worlds Debate
- 1:09:05 - Evaluating Jacob's Theory
- 1:13:49 - Criteria for Theoretical Frameworks
- 1:17:15 - Bohmian Mechanics and Stochastic Dynamics
- 1:18:51 - Generalizing Quantum Theory
- 1:22:32 - The Role of Unobservables
- 1:31:08 - The Problem of Trajectories
- 1:39:39 - Exploring Alternative Theories
- 1:50:29 - The Stone Soup Analogy
- 1:56:20 - The Limits of Quantum Mechanics
- 2:01:57 - The Nature of Laws in Physics
- 2:14:57 - The Many Worlds Interpretation
- 2:22:40 - The Search for New Connections

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RESOURCES:

- 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/3QJleSu
- Jacob 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-MXEMBy0fnZcb
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