Exploring the Foundations of a Universe Without Absolute Space

What if quantum mechanics is not fundamental? What if time itself is an illusion? In this new episode, physicist Julian Barbour returns to share his most radical ideas yet. He proposes that the universe is built purely from ratios, that time is not fundamental, and that quantum mechanics might be replaced entirely without the need for wave functions or Planck’s constant. This may be the simplest vision of reality ever proposed. As a listener of TOE you can get a special 20% off discount to The Economist and all it has to offer! Visit https://www.economist.com/toe Join My New Substack (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com Listen on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/SpotifyTOE Become a YouTube Member (Early Access Videos): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdWIQh9DGG6uhJk8eyIFl1w/join Videos Mentioned: Julian’s previous appearance on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bprxrGaf0Os Neil Turok on TOE (Big Bang): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUp9x44N3uE Neil Turok on TOE (Black Holes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNZCa1pVE20 Debunking “All Possible Paths”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcY3ZtgYis0 John Vervaeke on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVj1KYGyesI Jacob Barandes & Scott Aaronson on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rbC3XZr9-c The Dark History of Anti-Gravity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBA3RUxkZdc Peter Woit on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTSeqsCgxj8 Books Mentioned: The Monadology – G.W. Leibniz: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1546527664 The Janus Point – Julian Barbour: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/0465095461 Reflections on the Motive Power of Heat – Carnot: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1514873974 Lucretius: On the Nature of Things: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/0393341364 Heisenberg and the Interpretation of QM: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1107403510 Quantum Mechanics for Cosmologists: https://books.google.ca/books?id=qou0iiLPjyoC&pg=PA99 Faraday, Maxwell, and the EM Field: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1616149426 The Feeling of Life Itself – Christof Koch: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08BTCX4BM Articles Mentioned: Time’s Arrow and Simultaneity (Barbour): https://arxiv.org/pdf/2211.14179 On the Moving Force of Heat (Clausius): https://sites.pitt.edu/~jdnorton/teaching/2559_Therm_Stat_Mech/docs/Clausius%20Moving%20Force%20heat%201851.pdf On the Motions and Collisions of Elastic Spheres (Maxwell): http://www.alternativaverde.it/stel/documenti/Maxwell/1860/Maxwell%20%281860%29%20-%20Illustrations%20of%20the%20dynamical%20theory%20of%20gases.pdf Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxwell–Boltzmann_distribution Identification of a Gravitational Arrow of Time: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1409.0917 The Nature of Time: https://arxiv.org/pdf/0903.3489 The Solution to the Problem of Time in Shape Dynamics: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1302.6264 CPT-Symmetric Universe: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1803.08928 Mach’s Principle and Dynamical Theories (JSTOR): https://www.jstor.org/stable/2397395 Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 01:35 Consciousness and the Nature of Reality 3:23 The Nature of Time and Change 7:01 The Role of Variety in Existence 9:23 Understanding Entropy and Temperature 36:10 Revisiting the Second Law of Thermodynamics 41:33 The Illusion of Entropy in the Universe 46:11 Rethinking the Past Hypothesis 55:03 Complexity, Order, and Newton's Influence 1:02:33 Evidence Beyond Quantum Mechanics 1:16:04 Age and Structure of the Universe 1:18:53 Open Universe and Ratios 1:20:15 Fundamental Particles and Ratios 1:24:20 Emergence of Structure in Age 1:27:11 Shapes and Their Explanations 1:32:54 Life and Variety in the Universe 1:44:27 Consciousness and Perception of Structure 1:57:22 Geometry, Experience, and Forces 2:09:27 The Role of Consciousness in Shape Dynamics Support TOE on Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs #science

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