Mindscape 323 | Jacob Barandes on Quantum Mechanics

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/seanmcarroll
Blog post with audio player, show notes, and transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2025/07/28/323-jacob-barandes-on-indivisible-stochastic-quantum-mechanics/

The search for a foundational theory of quantum mechanics that all physicists can agree on remains active. Over the last century a number of contenders have emerged, including Many-Worlds, pilot-wave theories, and others, but all of them have aspects that many people object to. Jacob Barandes has taken up the challenge, proposing a new formulation of quantum theory in which there is no wave function, only real degrees of freedom with fundamentally stochastic dynamics. We talk about this new theory and the challenges facing it.

Jacob Barandes received his Ph.D. in physics from Harvard University. He is currently Senior Preceptor in Physics and Associated Faculty in Philosophy at Harvard. He teaches both physics and philosophy courses at Harvard, where he has been the recipient of several teaching awards.

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