Mistaking the Map for the Territory in Physics - Dr. Jacob Barandes, Harvard, DemystifySci #344

Dr. Jacob Barandes is a professor of Physics at Harvard
University who studies the foundations of physics. He has emerged
as a leading skeptic of the idea that our universe is somehow
fundamentally mathematical in nature, marking a full cycle of
more than two thousand years of ink spilled about the nature of
the universe. Barandes has found that there is a way of modeling
the basement membrane of reality as being made of bodies with
location, where everything from superposition to electricity and
magnetism are a product of the motions of these bodies. Our
conversation spans the basic principles that Barandes has used to
arrive at this conclusion, the vital role that confusion over
what constitutes a “measurement” plays in producing a highly
paradoxical interpretation of nature, and the fact that this
debate about the nature of the universe - substance versus
mathematics - has been raging for more than two thousand years,
with no end in sight. MAKE HISTORY WITH US THIS
SUMMER:https://demystifysci.com/demysticon-2025PATREON
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DRIFThttps://demystifysci.com/paradigm-drift-show00:00
Go!00:05:40 – What Are Hilbert Spaces?00:10:14 – Why Complex
Numbers Matter in Quantum Mechanics00:12:45 – Abstraction vs.
Clarity in Physics00:17:17 – The Particle Misconception in
Quantum Theory00:22:10 – What's Missing in Quantum
Textbooks00:25:28 – What Is a Measurement in Quantum
Mechanics?00:32:08 – The Problem of Self-Reference in Quantum
Theory00:35:31 – Understanding the Heisenberg Cut00:39:37 –
Decoherence Isn’t Collapse00:49:47 – The Quantum Measurement
Problem00:52:46 – Competing Interpretations of Quantum
Mechanics01:00:00 – Toward a Real Quantum Reality01:06:25 – The
Moral Responsibility of Scientists01:12:19 – Free Will and
Physical Law01:16:01 – Material Science and Quantum
Resonance01:20:01 – Aether, Electromagnetism, and
Relativity01:27:21 – Why Scientific Progress Is Messy01:31:42 –
The Limits of Scientific Explanation01:33:20 – Plato, Ethics, and
the Modern World01:36:06 – Can Physics Define Good?01:39:14 – Why
Physics Can’t Capture the Human Spirit01:45:04 – Building
Community in Physics01:48:22 – Trying Matters More Than
Winning#quantumphysics, #philosophyofscience, #quantummechanics,
#freewill, #complexnumbers, #decoherence, #metaphysics,
#theoreticalphysics, #natureofreality, #philosophypodcast ,
#sciencepodcast, #longformpodcast ABOUS US: Anastasia completed
her PhD studying bioelectricity at Columbia University. When not
talking to brilliant people or making movies, she spends her time
painting, reading, and guiding backcountry excursions. Shilo also
did his PhD at Columbia studying the elastic properties of
molecular water. When he's not in the film studio, he's exploring
sound in music. They are both freelance professors at various
universities. PATREON: get episodes early + join our weekly
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