Harvard Scientist Rewrites the Rules of Quantum Mechanics | Scott Aaronson Λ Jacob Barandes

Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal

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?

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Timestamps:

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

Links 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/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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