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Tim Maudlin is Professor of Philosophy at NYU and Founder and Director of the John Bell Institute for the Foundations of Physics. Sheldon Goldstein is Distinguished Professor of Mathematics at Rutgers University, where he researches mathematical physics, the foundations of quantum mechanics, and Bohmian Mechanics. He is also Board Member of the John Bell Institute for the Foundations of Physics, and this is his second appearance on the show. In episode 170, he and Robinson discussed Bohmian Mechanics. On the other hand, this is Tim’s fifth appearance on the show. Tim was also a guest on episode 46 (laws of nature, space, and free will), episode 67 with David Albert (the foundations of quantum mechanics), episode 115 with Craig Callender (the philosophy of time), and episode 142 on Bell’s inequality and the philosophy of science. In this episode, Robinson, Tim, and Shelly discuss the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics, the Many-Worlds theory, spontaneous collapse theories, Bohmian mechanics, and emergent relativity. If you’re interested in the foundations of physics—which you absolutely should be—then please check out the JBI, which is devoted to providing a home for research and education in this important area. Any donations are immensely helpful at this early stage in the institute’s life.

Tim’s Website: www.tim-maudlin.site

Shelly’s Website: https://sites.math.rutgers.edu/~oldstein/

The John Bell Institute: https://www.johnbellinstitute.org

OUTLINE

00:00 In This Episode…

00:22 Introduction

03:04 Is Copenhagen the Dominant Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics?

20:12 On the Most Promising Theories of Quantum Mechanics

34:46 Are There 0-Dimensional Quantum Objects?

41:03 On Spontaneous Wave Function Collapse in Quantum Mechanics

47:56 Bohmian Mechanics and Determinism

51:34 What is Bohmian Mechanics?

1:10:33 Is There a Fundamental Theory of Quantum Mechanics

1:18:45What Is Emergent Relativity?

1:31:01 What Are the Problems with Bohmian Mechanics?

Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com

Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between.