Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal

Epizody

• We're Simulated. AI Is Conscious. And We Can't Win. 01.06.2026 2h 1min

  SPONSORS: - Accelerate your efficiency. Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial today at http://shopify.com/theories - I personally subscribe to The Economist. TOE listeners get 35% off the annual subscription. No other podcast has this! https://economist.com/TOE Roman Yampolskiy has spent two decades being right about things people wished he wasn't — and in this conversation, he's not here to scare you, but to be precise. He makes the case that AI alignment isn't merely unsolved but fundamentally under-defined: no agreed-upon values, no way to formalize them even if there were, and no mechanism for enforcing them on something smarter than its creators. His strongest argument isn't a doom scenario, it's that you cannot indefinitely control something smarter than you. FOLLOW: - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e - Substack: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/subscribe - Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt - Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs - Crypto: https://nowpayments.io/donation/TOE - PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=XUBHNMFXUX5S4 TIMESTAMPS: - 00:00:00 - Defining General Intelligence - 00:05:58 - AI Instrumental Convergence - 00:11:11 - The Orthogonality Thesis - 00:16:15 - Escaping the Simulation - 00:21:45 - Principle of Indifference - 00:27:51 - Acquired Savant Syndrome - 00:33:51 - LLM Internal States - 00:41:02 - AI Safety Impossibility Results - 00:47:16 - Public Misconceptions - 00:53:21 - Existential vs. Suffering Risks - 01:01:20 - AI Alignment Definition Crisis - 01:09:28 - Computational Irreducibility - 01:16:20 - Substrate Independence - 01:22:50 - Philosophical Zombie Critique - 01:29:57 - The Cassandra Paradox - 01:37:35 - Religion and Simulation - 01:46:03 - Digital Physics Evidence - 01:51:20 - Limits of Control LINKS MENTIONED: - Roman's Papers: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=0_Rq68cAAAAJ - Roman's Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPIq6Bb-1iLmqyksJjy4kLQ - Roman's Twitter: https://x.com/romanyam - Roman's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/roman.yampolskiy - AI Identity [Paper]: https://philarchive.org/archive/ZIETPO-7 - Basic AI Drives [Paper]: https://selfawaresystems.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/ai_drives_final.pdf - Qualia in Agents [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/abs/1712.04020 - Orthogonality Thesis [Paper]: https://nickbostrom.com/superintelligentwill.pdf - Escape the Simulation [Paper]: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/369187097_How_to_Escape_From_the_Simulation - Could This AI Be Conscious? [Article]: https://unherd.com/2026/05/is-ai-the-next-phase-of-evolution - Impossibility Results in AI [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/abs/2109.00484 - When AIs Act Emotional: https://youtu.be/D4XTefP3Lsc - Hacking the Simulation [Paper]: https://philarchive.org/rec/YAMHTS-2 - Autonomous Machine Intelligence [Paper]: https://openreview.net/pdf?id=BZ5a1r-kVsf - Hinton on Maternal Instincts [Article]: https://fortune.com/2025/08/14/godfather-of-ai-geoffrey-hinton-maternal-instincts-superintelligence/ - Singleton Hypothesis [Paper]: https://nickbostrom.com/fut/singleton - New Kind of Science [Book]: https://amazon.com/dp/1579550088?tag=toe08-20 - On AI Controllability [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/abs/2008.04071 - Universe as Numerical Simulation [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/abs/1210.1847 - Nir Lahav [TOE]: https://youtu.be/3nHiOtnnrzA - Joscha Bach [TOE]: https://youtu.be/3MNBxfrmfmI - Bas Van Fraassen [TOE]: https://youtu.be/lhpRAWxvY5s - Simulation Hypothesis [TOE]: https://youtu.be/3_lBPMc6JRY - Geoffrey Hinton [TOE]: https://youtu.be/b_DUft-BdIE - Max Tegmark [TOE]: https://youtu.be/-gekVfUAS7c - Stephen Wolfram [TOE]: https://youtu.be/FkYer0xP37E - David Chalmers [TOE]: https://youtu.be/5r9V1ryksnw More links: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com Guests do not pay to appear. #science Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• The Genius Who Invented Reverse Mathematics 18.05.2026 1h 38min

  SPONSORS: - Go to https://www.plaud.ai/curt to get a Plaud device today - Go to https://shortform.com/toe for a free trial and an exclusive $50 OFF on your annual subscription - I personally subscribe to The Economist. TOE listeners get 35% off the annual subscription. No other podcast has this! https://economist.com/TOE Harvey Friedman — the youngest professor in Stanford's history, founder of reverse mathematics, and the mathematician Kurt Gödel chose to sponsor his final paper — has spent 60 years on one question: can ordinary, finite math be trusted? His theorems show that even concrete statements involving nothing more exotic than rational numbers cannot be proved or refuted within ZFC. The foundations of mathematics, Friedman argues, are not settled bedrock but vertiginous — made more mysterious, not less, by his own work. FOLLOW: - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e - Substack: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/subscribe - Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt - Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs - Crypto: https://nowpayments.io/donation/TOE - PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=XUBHNMFXUX5S4 TIMESTAMPS: - 00:00:00 - Gödel’s Incompleteness Misinterpretations - 00:09:48 - Woodin vs. Friedman Foundations - 00:17:28 - Category Theory vs. Logic - 00:24:30 - Borel Determinacy Paradoxes - 00:31:23 - Embedded Maximality Principles - 00:41:18 - Tree(3) and Kruskal’s Theorem - 00:47:40 - Finitism and Large Cardinals - 00:53:11 - Divine Consistency and Angels - 01:03:25 - Reverse Mathematics Origins - 01:11:14 - Constructive Logic and Intuitionism - 01:21:17 - Theology and AI Immortality LINKS MENTIONED: - Harvey Friedman Papers: https://u.osu.edu/friedman.8/foundational-adventures/publications/ - Harvey Friedman YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@harveyfriedman4465/videos - Harvey Friedman Chess Club: https://cclchess.com/ - This Man Is About to Blow Up Mathematics [Article]: https://nautil.us/this-man-is-about-to-blow-up-mathematics-236446 - Harvey Lecture at OSU: https://youtu.be/NAGQD-bSXok - Most Abused Theorem in Math [TOE]: https://youtu.be/OH-ybecvuEo - John Norton [TOE]: https://youtu.be/Tghl6aS5A3M - Emily Riehl [TOE]: https://youtu.be/mTwvecBthpQ - What Is Infinity? [TOE]: https://youtu.be/rHtqGrtcB1w - Norman Wildberger [TOE]: https://youtu.be/l7LvgvunVCM - Wolfgang Smith [TOE]: https://youtu.be/lF4S_P_o-g0 - Scott Aaronson [TOE]: https://youtu.be/1ZpGCQoL2Rk - Consciousness Iceberg [TOE]: https://youtu.be/65yjqIDghEk - Edward Frenkel [TOE]: https://youtu.be/n_oPMcvHbAc - Elan Barenholtz [TOE]: https://youtu.be/A36OumnSrWY - Michael Levin [TOE]: https://youtu.be/c8iFtaltX-s - Godel Incompleteness Theorems: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/goedel-incompleteness/ - Consistency of Axiom of Choice [Book]: https://archive.org/details/dli.ernet.469796/page/18/mode/2up - Independence of Continuum Hypothesis [Paper]: https://www.jstor.org/stable/71858 - Borel Determinacy [Paper]: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1971035 - Paris-Harrington Theorem: https://mathworld.wolfram.com/Paris-HarringtonTheorem.html - The God Letter: https://uncertaintist.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/einstein-letter-gutkind-excerpts.pdf - Undecidable Propositions of Principia Mathematica [Book]: https://amazon.com/dp/0486669807?tag=toe08-20 - Categories for the Working Mathematician [Book]: https://amazon.com/dp/1441931236?tag=toe08-20 - On Necessary Use of Abstract Set Theory [Paper]: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0001870881900219 - Borel Set: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borel_set More links: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com Guests do not pay to appear. #science Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• Janna Levin: The Unreasonable Effectiveness of the Klein Bottle 11.05.2026 2h 4min

  SPONSORS: - Go to https://shortform.com/toe for a free trial and an exclusive $50 OFF on your annual subscription - Go to https://vanman.shop/curt to get 15% off your order - Go to https://www.plaud.ai/curt to get a Plaud device today - I personally subscribe to The Economist. TOE listeners get 35% off the annual subscription. No other podcast has this! https://economist.com/TOE Janna Levin — Claire Tow Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Barnard College, founding Director of Sciences at Pioneer Works, and co-host of Quanta's The Joy of Why — is working with Brian Greene to explore whether hidden Klein-bottle-shaped dimensions could explain why matter won the war against antimatter after the Big Bang. The geometry does the work — no fudged parameters required. FOLLOW: - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e - Substack: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/subscribe - Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt - Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs - Crypto: https://nowpayments.io/donation/TOE - PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=XUBHNMFXUX5S4 TIMESTAMPS: - 00:00:00 - Universe as Gödel Sentence - 00:05:24 - Unknowable Initial Conditions - 00:10:28 - AI and Non-Computable Consciousness - 00:15:36 - The Hard Problem Paradox - 00:25:25 - Klein Bottle Topology - 00:32:04 - Pin Structures and Chirality - 00:39:56 - Breaking Matter-Antimatter Symmetry - 00:51:26 - Topology and Dark Energy - 00:57:00 - Black Hole Information Paradox - 01:07:04 - ER=EPR and Firewalls - 01:13:37 - Black Holes as Particles - 01:18:42 - Emergent Gravity and Holography - 01:23:43 - Rejecting Physical Infinities - 01:31:41 - Narrative Truth vs. Axioms - 01:41:22 - Insomnia and Mathematical Madness - 01:47:22 - Scientific Mysticism and Honesty - 01:53:34 - Biological Morality and Advice LINKS MENTIONED: - Janna's Substack: jannalevin.substack.com - Janna's Books: amazon.com/stores/author/B001IXTNZQ - Janna's Papers: inspirehep.net/authors/1000438 - Pioneer Works: pioneerworks.org - Whales Don't Want to Go to Mars [Article]: jannalevin.substack.com/p/billions-of-exoplanets-zero-aliens - Black Hole Blues [Book]: amzn.to/4cPOcfr - A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines [Book]: amazon.com/dp/1400032407?tag=toe08-20 - Gödel Incompleteness Theorems: plato.stanford.edu/entries/goedel-incompleteness - Gödel Numbering: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6del_numbering - Wave Function of the Universe [Paper]: isidore.co/misc/Physics%20papers%20and%20books/Classic%20Papers/Wavefunction%20of%20the%20Universe%20(Hartle%20&%20Hawking).pdf - Janna & Penrose at Oxford: jannalevin.substack.com/p/penrose-and-mein-oxford - Hard Problem of Consciousness [Paper]: consc.net/papers/facing.pdf - Klein Bottle: mathworld.wolfram.com/KleinBottle.html - Klein Bottle Cosmology [Paper]: arxiv.org/abs/2511.23447 - Brane-World Motion in Compact Dimensions [Paper]: arxiv.org/abs/1103.2174 - Dark Energy & Extra Dimensions [Paper]: arxiv.org/abs/0707.1062 - Particle Creation by Black Holes [Paper]: link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02345020 - BH Complementarity [Paper]: arxiv.org/abs/hep-th/9306069 - Black Holes: Complementarity or Firewalls? [Paper]: arxiv.org/abs/1207.3123 - Thermodynamics of Spacetime [Paper]: arxiv.org/abs/gr-qc/9504004 - Most Abused Theorem in Math [TOE]: youtu.be/OH-ybecvuEo - Roger Penrose [TOE]: youtu.be/sGm505TFMbU - Roger Penrose [Part 2]: youtu.be/iO03t21xhdk - Neil Turok [TOE]: youtu.be/zNZCa1pVE20 - David Chalmers [TOE]: youtu.be/5r9V1ryksnw - Brian Greene [TOE]: youtu.be/O2EtTE9Czzo - Leonard Susskind [TOE]: youtu.be/2p_Hlm6aCok - Ted Jacobson [TOE]: youtu.be/3mhctWlXyV8 - Juan Maldacena [TOE]: youtu.be/6LbRHMvyrik More links at https://curtjaimungal.substack.com Guests do not pay to appear. #science Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• Juan Maldacena: Geometry as Entanglement, and the Emergence of Spacetime 04.05.2026 1h 47min

  SPONSORS: - Go to https://shortform.com/toe for a free trial and an exclusive $50 OFF on your annual subscription - I personally subscribe to The Economist. TOE listeners get 35% off the annual subscription. No other podcast has this! https://economist.com/TOE Juan Maldacena wrote the most cited paper in theoretical physics, birthing AdS/CFT and realizing holography — and today, the problem keeping him up at night is wormholes. He suspects space-time isn't fundamental at all, that geometry itself might be what entanglement looks like from the inside. The singularity isn't a place, it's a name for everything we don't yet understand. I hope you enjoy it. FOLLOW: - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e - Substack: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/subscribe - Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt - Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs - Crypto: https://commerce.coinbase.com/checkout/de803625-87d3-4300-ab6d-85d4258834a9 - PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=XUBHNMFXUX5S4 TIMESTAMPS: - 00:00:00 - Emergent Space-Time Geometry - 00:05:28 - GR and QM Incompatibility - 00:11:52 - The Singularity Problem - 00:17:00 - Extremal Black Hole Thermodynamics - 00:22:00 - The Island Formula - 00:27:30 - Spacetime and Quantum Information - 00:34:15 - ER equals EPR - 00:41:51 - Traversable Wormhole Physics - 00:47:24 - Simulating Wormholes with Qubits - 00:52:53 - Celestial Holography and Symmetries - 00:58:00 - dS/CFT and Dark Energy - 01:04:24 - Quantum Error Correction Codes - 01:10:00 - The Physicist’s Mindset - 01:15:19 - Inflationary Gravity Wave Predictions - 01:21:03 - Clocks and Emergent Time - 01:26:44 - Is Space-Time Doomed? - 01:32:00 - AI in Theoretical Physics - 01:38:00 - Overcoming Academic Inadequacy LINKS MENTIONED: - Juan Maldacena's Website: https://www.ias.edu/sns/malda - Large N Limit of Superconformal Field Theories [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/abs/hep-th/9711200 - Eternal Black Holes in AdS [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/abs/hep-th/0106112 - Holographic Derivation of Entanglement Entropy [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/abs/hep-th/0603001 - Real Observers Solving Imaginary Problems [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.14014 - Building Spacetime with Quantum Entanglement [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/abs/1005.3035 - Entropy of Bulk Quantum Fields [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/abs/1905.08762 - Entanglement Wedge Reconstruction [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/abs/1905.08255 - Comments on the Double Cone Wormhole [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.11617 - Traversable Wormholes in Four Dimensions [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/abs/1807.04726 - JT Gravity as a Matrix Integral [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/abs/1903.11115 - Single-Minus Gluon Tree Amplitudes [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.12176 - Bulk Locality and Quantum Error Correction [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/abs/1411.7041 - Black Hole Information Paradox: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_hole_information_paradox - Chilloquium 2023 [Lecture]: https://youtu.be/Ow81IJyzmUQ - Erik Verlinde [TOE]: https://youtu.be/ilVImMHcr_g - Leonard Susskind [TOE]: https://youtu.be/2p_Hlm6aCok - Edward Frenkel [TOE]: https://youtu.be/RX1tZv_Nv4Y More links at https://curtjaimungal.substack.com Guests do not pay to appear. #science Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• Slavoj Zizek: “Buddhism Can’t Explain This” 27.04.2026 1h 35min

  SPONSORS:- Accelerate your efficiency. Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial today at http://shopify.com/theories- Go to https://shortform.com/toe for a free trial and an exclusive $50 OFF on your annual subscription- I subscribe to The Economist for their science and tech coverage. As a TOE listener, get 35% off! No other podcast has this: https://economist.com/TOESlavoj Žižek doesn't answer your question — he dismantles it, rebuilds it, and hands you something stranger and more useful than what you started with. Philosopher, provocateur, and self-described pessimist, he's spent decades insisting on something most thinkers shy away from: that freedom isn't the absence of necessity — it's the moment you choose what you fundamentally are. The fall comes first. Paradise was never real to begin with. Reality is the gap, not the thing on either side of it. FOLLOW: - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e - Substack: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/subscribe - Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt - Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs - Crypto: https://commerce.coinbase.com/checkout/de803625-87d3-4300-ab6d-85d4258834a9 - PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=XUBHNMFXUX5S4 TIMESTAMPS:- 00:00:00 - Socrates and Radical Freedom- 00:05:02 - Quantum Indeterminacy vs. Freedom- 00:10:06 - Ontological Collapse Paradoxes- 00:15:07 - Adorno and Social Antinomies- 00:20:36 - Democritus: Less Than Nothing- 00:25:40 - Sartre and Existential Choice- 00:30:45 - Freudian Death Drive- 00:36:01 - Heidegger and Hysterical Awareness- 00:42:10 - Imp of Perversity- 00:48:07 - Einstein vs. Bohr- 00:53:15 - God’s Ontological Laziness- 00:58:17 - Hegel’s Retroactive Necessity- 01:03:41 - Digital Spirituality and AI- 01:09:18 - Stalin and Failed Projects- 01:14:41 - Hegel in a Wired Brain- 01:20:10 - Religious Convictions and Physics- 01:25:12 - Zen Buddhism and WarLINKS MENTIONED: - Slavoj's Books: https://amazon.com/stores/author/B000APK7P8- Philosophical Investigations into Human Freedom: https://amazon.com/dp/0791468747?tag=toe08-20- Freedom: A Disease Without Cure: https://amazon.com/dp/1350559164?tag=toe08-20- Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals: https://www.earlymoderntexts.com/assets/pdfs/kant1785.pdf- Binding, Minds & the Platonic Realm [Lecture]: https://youtu.be/0BVM0UC28nY- Quantum Healing: https://amazon.com/dp/0553348698?tag=toe08-20- Republic of Silence: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1944/12/paris-alive-the-republic-of-silence/656012/- Discourse on the Origin of Inequality: https://amazon.com/dp/0486434141?tag=toe08-20- Beyond the Pleasure Principle: https://www.sas.upenn.edu/~cavitch/pdf-library/Freud_Beyond_P_P.pdf- Philosophy of Spirit: https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/hegel/jlindex.htm- Hegelian Reading of the New Science of Consciousness: https://www.crisiscritique.org/storage/app/media/2025-08-25/slavoj-zizek.pdf- The Mirror Stage: https://english.hku.hk/staff/kjohnson/PDF/LacanMirrorStageECRITS.pdf- Being and Time: https://amazon.com/dp/0061575593?tag=toe08-20- Less Than Nothing: https://amazon.com/dp/1781681279?tag=toe08-20- The Imp of the Perverse: https://web.english.upenn.edu/~cavitch/pdf-library/Poe_Imp.pdf- Einstein-Bohr Debate: https://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/dk/bohr.htm- Ages of the World: https://amazon.com/dp/1438474059?tag=toe08-20- Quantum History: https://amazon.com/dp/135056642X?tag=toe08-20- Phenomenology of Spirit: https://amazon.com/dp/0198245971?tag=toe08-20- Philosophy of Right: https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/hegel/works/pr/preface.htm- White Holes: https://amazon.com/dp/B0BTKZVJJK?tag=toe08-20- Science of Logic: https://amazon.com/dp/1542519918?tag=toe08-20- End of History and the Last Man: https://amazon.com/dp/0743284550?tag=toe08-20More links at https://curtjaimungal.substack.com Guests do not pay to appear. #science Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• Curt Jaimungal: Consciousness, Irreducibility, and the Local to Global 22.04.2026 1h

  I personally subscribe to The Economist. TOE listeners get 35% off the annual subscription. No other podcast has this! https://economist.com/TOE Why can't local agreement scale to global truth? At the Mind at Large consciousness conference, hosted by the Center for Process Studies, I make the case using sheaf theory and physics — breaking down consciousness, free will, and the hard problem to show why sincerity beats any polished, totalizing philosophy. FOLLOW: - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e - Substack: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/subscribe - Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt - Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs - Crypto: https://commerce.coinbase.com/checkout/de803625-87d3-4300-ab6d-85d4258834a9 - PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=XUBHNMFXUX5S4 TIMESTAMPS: - 00:00:00 - Intellectual Slogan Fatigue - 00:06:11 - The Reverse Elephant Metaphor - 00:11:12 - Local-to-Global Extension Failures - 00:16:13 - Three Senses of Irreducibility - 00:21:16 - Sheaf Theory and Obstructions - 00:26:30 - Hard Problem Formalizations - 00:31:36 - Averted Vision and Consciousness - 00:36:36 - Taxonomy of Everything - 00:41:39 - Pre-articulate Scientific Intimations - 00:46:45 - Speculative Philosophy and Humility - 00:51:47 - Ontological Significance of Vagueness LINKS MENTIONED: - Matthew Segall [TOE]: https://youtu.be/DeTm4fSXpbM - Jenann Ismael [TOE]: https://youtu.be/7kvXihDAOi0 - Aephraim Steinberg [TOE]: https://youtu.be/cOZ3Kto6NIc - The Third Option [TOE]: https://youtu.be/tJsghrZQaYU - Scott Aaronson & David Chalmers [TOE]: https://youtu.be/7PlmOXQ18jk - Curt Debunks "All Possible Paths" [TOE]: https://youtu.be/XcY3ZtgYis0 - Consciousness Iceberg [TOE]: https://youtu.be/65yjqIDghEk - Stephen Wolfram [TOE]: https://youtu.be/FkYer0xP37E - Karl Friston [TOE]: https://youtu.be/uk4NZorRjCo - Michael Levin [TOE]: https://youtu.be/c8iFtaltX-s - Geoffrey Hinton [TOE]: https://youtu.be/b_DUft-BdIE - Noam Chomsky [TOE]: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ7ikzmc6zlORiRfcaQe8ZdxKxF-e2BCY - Anna Ciaunica & Michael Levin [TOE]: https://youtu.be/2aLhkm6QUgA - Mind-at-Large Project: https://ctr4process.org/mind-at-large/ - Process and Reality [Book]: https://amazon.com/dp/0029345707?tag=toe08-20 - The Structure of Science [Book]: https://amazon.com/dp/0915144719?tag=toe08-20 - Sorites Paradox: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/sorites-paradox/ - The Mathematics of Self [Article]: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/p/the-mathematics-of-self-why-you-can - Gödel, Escher, Bach [Book]: https://amazon.com/dp/0465026567?tag=toe08-20 - Sheaf (Mathematics): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheaf_(mathematics) - Counterexamples in Topology [Book]: https://amazon.com/dp/048668735X?tag=toe08-20 - Process Philosophy: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/process-philosophy/ - Consciousness Explained [Book]: https://amazon.com/dp/0316180661?tag=toe08-20 - The Conscious Mind [Book]: https://amazon.com/dp/0195117891?tag=toe08-20 - Matter and Memory [Book]: https://amazon.com/dp/1420937804?tag=toe08-20 - Boiling Frog: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling_frog - Peano's Axioms: https://mathworld.wolfram.com/PeanosAxioms.html - Aharonov-Bohm Effect: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aharonov%E2%80%93Bohm_effect More links at https://curtjaimungal.substack.com Guests do not pay to appear. #science Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• George Ellis: Hawking's Co-Author on Why Reductionism Is Dead 20.04.2026 1h 35min

  SPONSORS: - Sign up for Claude today at https://Claude.ai/theoriesofeverything and checkout Claude Pro — which includes access to all of the features mentioned in today's episode - Go to https://shortform.com/toe for a free trial and an exclusive $50 OFF on your annual subscription. - I personally subscribe to The Economist. TOE listeners get 35% off the annual subscription. No other podcast has this! https://economist.com/TOE George Ellis is one of those guests who makes you rethink what you thought you understood. Co-author with Stephen Hawking of the singularity theorems, he's spent decades insisting on something most physicists won't touch: that reductionism is simply — patently — false. Physics doesn't decide outcomes. Context does. The thermostat sets the temperature. The algorithm tells the electrons what to do. The physics is the servant, not the master. FOLLOW: - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e - Substack: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/subscribe - Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt - Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs - Crypto: https://commerce.coinbase.com/checkout/de803625-87d3-4300-ab6d-85d4258834a9 - PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=XUBHNMFXUX5S4 TIMESTAMPS: - 00:00:00 - Reductionism is Patently False - 00:07:37 - Top-Down Causation Mechanics - 00:13:46 - Modular Hierarchical Structures - 00:21:00 - Causation at Emergent Levels - 00:26:56 - Universal Biological Principles - 00:36:07 - Critiquing Penrose and CCC - 00:42:41 - The Physics of Infinity - 00:48:50 - Agency and Physical Constraints - 00:56:08 - The Open Future - 01:07:23 - Bioelectricity and Goal-Directedness - 01:12:28 - Evolving Block Universe - 01:19:32 - Multiverse as Metaphysics - 01:24:49 - Moral Realism as Data LINKS MENTIONED: - George's Papers: https://inspirehep.net/authors/1010821 - George's Books: https://amazon.com/stores/George-Francis-Rayner-Ellis/author/B00287T2PW - Arrow of Time [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/abs/1302.7291 - Why Reductionism Does Not Work [Paper]: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-662-63187-4_6 - Recognizing Top-Down Causation [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/abs/1212.2275 - Top-Down Causation by Information Control [Paper]: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3226993/ - Causal Closure of Physics [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/abs/2006.00972 - Issues in Philosophy of Cosmology [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0602280 - The Music of Life [Book]: https://amazon.com/dp/0199228361?tag=toe08-20 - How Can Physics Underlie the Mind? [Book]: https://amazon.com/dp/3662498073?tag=toe08-20 - Large Scale Structure of Space-Time [Book]: https://amazon.com/dp/0521099064?tag=toe08-20 - The Selfish Gene [Book]: https://amazon.com/dp/0199291152?tag=toe08-20 - World Beyond Physics [Book]: https://amazon.com/dp/0190871334?tag=toe08-20 - Contextual Wavefunction Collapse [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/abs/1807.08171 - A Theory of Biological Relativity [Paper]: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23386960/ - Facing Up to the Problem of Consciousness [Paper]: https://consc.net/papers/facing.pdf - Denis Noble [TOE]: https://youtu.be/K-U-ZB3yHK4 - Michael Levin [TOE]: https://youtu.be/c8iFtaltX-s - Sean Carroll [TOE]: https://youtu.be/9AoRxtYZrZo - Quantum Physics, Digital Computers, and Life [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.06306 - Dynamical Emergence of Biology from Physics [Paper]: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2018.01966/full - The Whole Truth [Book]: https://amazon.com/dp/0691231354?tag=toe08-20 - Endless Forms Most Beautiful [Book]: https://amazon.com/dp/0393327795?tag=toe08-20 - Topology and Cosmology [Paper]: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02450512 More links at https://curtjaimungal.substack.com Guests do not pay to appear. #science Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• Aephraim Steinberg: The Physicist Who Measured Negative Time 13.04.2026 2h 27min

  SPONSORS: - Go to https://expressvpn.com/theoriesofeverythingyt to find out how you can get up to 4 extra months thanks to our sponsor, ExpressVPN - Accelerate your efficiency. Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial today at http://shopify.com/theories - I personally subscribe to The Economist. TOE listeners get 35% off the annual subscription. No other podcast has this! https://economist.com/TOE Professor Aephraim Steinberg, winner of Physics World's Breakthrough of the Year in 2011, is an experimentalist who thinks deeply about foundations. For 30 years he's measured aspects of physics others wouldn't touch: Bohmian trajectories, Heisenberg's disturbance bound (he showed it was wrong), even where the photon is inside the double slit. His lab measured negative time, and it keeps reappearing across different experiments. FOLLOW: - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e - Substack: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/subscribe - Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt - Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs - Crypto: https://commerce.coinbase.com/checkout/de803625-87d3-4300-ab6d-85d4258834a9 - PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=XUBHNMFXUX5S4 TIMESTAMPS: - 00:00:00 - Defining Negative Time - 00:06:50 - Quantum Trajectory Theory - 00:12:44 - The Holland Tunnel Analogy - 00:18:40 - Resonant Atomic Interactions - 00:26:05 - Superluminal Energy Propagation - 00:32:00 - Eight Velocities of Light - 00:38:00 - Causality and Retrocausality - 00:44:00 - Dwell Time vs. Delay - 00:50:24 - Time: Operator or Parameter? - 00:58:21 - Bell's Theorem and Realism - 01:04:55 - Heisenberg's Measurement Disturbance - 01:11:26 - Weak Measurement Formalism - 01:17:37 - Time Symmetry and Entropy - 01:27:07 - Bohmian Trajectories Observed - 01:35:56 - Spin-Statistics and Indistinguishability - 01:42:14 - Quantum Computational Advantage - 01:48:15 - Many Worlds vs. Complexity - 01:54:51 - Psi-Ontic vs. Psi-Epistemic - 02:01:37 - Collapsing Tunneling Particles - 02:08:48 - Larmor vs. Atto Clocks - 02:15:24 - Locality and Information LINKS: - Website: https://www.physics.utoronto.ca/~aephraim/ - Papers: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=PzUyb6IAAAAJ - Photon Negative Time: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2409.03680 - Photon Time as Excitation: https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.00432 - Atoms in Excited State: https://journals.aps.org/prxquantum/abstract/10.1103/PRXQuantum.3.010314 - Tunneling Atom in Barrier: https://arxiv.org/abs/1907.13523 - Single-Photon Tunneling: https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.71.708 - Traversal Time: https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.49.1739 - Gaussian Pulse Propagation: https://journals.aps.org/pra/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevA.1.305 - Pulse in Absorbing Medium: https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.48.738 - Eighth Velocity of Light: https://pubs.aip.org/aapt/ajp/article-abstract/45/6/538/1045817/Eighth-velocity-of-light - Attosecond Ionization: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1163439 - Tunneling Pulses, Band Gaps: https://attoworld.de/fileadmin/user_upload/tx_attoworld/publications/paper_PhysRevLett_Y1994_M10_D24_V73_P2308.pdf - Evidence of Negative Time: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/evidence-of-negative-time-found-in-quantum-physics-experiment/ - Light Speed Reduction: https://www.nature.com/articles/17561 - Theory of Light and Colors: https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/107113.pdf - Wave Propagation: https://amazon.com/dp/1483253937?tag=toe08-20 - EPR: https://journals.aps.org/pr/abstract/10.1103/PhysRev.47.777 - Uncertainty Principle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncertainty_principle - QBism: https://arxiv.org/abs/1003.5209 More: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com Guests do not pay to appear. #science Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• Curt Jaimungal: Why You Are Brighter Than You Think 10.04.2026 15min

  SPONSORS: - Go to https://shortform.com/toe for a free trial and an exclusive $50 OFF on your annual subscription - I personally subscribe to The Economist. TOE listeners get 35% off the annual subscription. No other podcast has this! https://economist.com/TOE The intellectual world is designed to erode your confidence — through rejection rates, delayed feedback, unfair comparisons, and the silence of everyone you've actually helped. In this video I break down why feeling like a fraud is almost a structural inevitability in serious academic and self-directed learning, not a reflection of your actual ability. If you've ever stared at your own work and wondered what's wrong with you, this one's for you. FOLLOW: - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e - Substack: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/subscribe - Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt - Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs - Crypto: https://commerce.coinbase.com/checkout/de803625-87d3-4300-ab6d-85d4258834a9 - PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=XUBHNMFXUX5S4 TIMESTAMPS: - 00:00 - Intellectual Negativity Bias - 03:22 - Rigor and Intellectual Giants - 05:33 - Invisible Intellectual Impact - 08:43 - Quinean Web of Metrics - 11:01 - Genius Culture Pathologies LINKS MENTIONED: - 7 Signs You're Smarter Than You Think [Substack]: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/p/7-signs-youre-smarter-than-you-think - Math Proof No One Could Explain [Part 1] [TOE]: https://youtu.be/RX1tZv_Nv4Y - Roger Penrose: Quantum Theory Is Wrong [TOE]: https://youtu.be/sGm505TFMbU - Bernardo Kastrup: Escaping the Illusion [TOE]: https://youtu.be/lAB21FAXCDE - Terence Tao: https://mathstodon.xyz/@tao/113721192051328193 - Curt's Substack: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com - Jacob Barandes: Quantum Theory as Stochastic Process [Wolfram]: https://youtu.be/JsmX3YxiUj0 - The 2,300-Year-Old Math Mistake [TOE]: https://youtu.be/GHGi_XDqKNw - David Bessis: Dual Braid Monoid [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/math/0101158 - Scott Aaronson: Greatest Unsolved Problem in Math [TOE]: https://youtu.be/1ZpGCQoL2Rk - Scott Aaronson: Truth About Quantum Computing [IAI]: https://youtu.be/KRxC6yzvoys - Beyond Consciousness: Animals, Infants, Petri Brains [TOE]: https://youtu.be/t_YMcEPfqCM - Willard Van Orman Quine [Stanford]: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/quine/ - Imposter Syndrome Workplace Prevalence: https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/imposter-syndrome-prevalence-uk-research/ - Imposter Syndrome Systematic Review [Paper]: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7174434/ - Sabrina @ How the Light Gets In [PhysicsGirl]: https://youtu.be/GrlGdoBGVBs - String Theory & M-Theory, Lecture 1 [Stanford]: https://youtu.be/25haxRuZQUk - Necessity of Complex Numbers [MIT OCW]: https://youtu.be/f079K1f2WQk - Phil Halper: Alternative Universe Theories [IAI]: https://youtu.be/3SpzC6stFhU - Debunking Veritasium: All Possible Paths Myth [TOE]: https://youtu.be/XcY3ZtgYis0 - Gödel's Incompleteness: Most Abused Theorem [TOE]: https://youtu.be/OH-ybecvuEo - Farina vs. Tour: Origin of Life Debate: https://youtu.be/KvGdllx9pJU More links at https://curtjaimungal.substack.com Guests do not pay to appear. #science Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• Curt Jaimungal: What Is Infinity, Actually? 07.04.2026 17min

  For much of history, many mathematicians—following thinkers like Aristotle—viewed infinity as a never-ending process rather than a completed object. In the late 19th century, Georg Cantor revolutionized this view by treating infinite sets as mathematical objects that could be compared and studied. His work showed that not all infinities are equal, and that there are infinitely many different sizes of infinity. While his ideas are foundational in modern mathematics, some philosophical schools, such as finitism and ultrafinitism, continue to question whether infinite objects meaningfully exist. I personally subscribe to The Economist. TOE listeners get 35% off the annual subscription. No other podcast has this! https://economist.com/TOE FOLLOW: - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e - Substack: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/subscribe - Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt - Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs - Crypto: https://commerce.coinbase.com/checkout/de803625-87d3-4300-ab6d-85d4258834a9 - PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=XUBHNMFXUX5S4 TIMESTAMPS: - 00:00 - Potential vs. Actual Infinity - 03:12 - Cardinality and Aleph-Null - 06:12 - Diagonalization and Uncountability - 09:21 - ZFC and Logical Independence - 12:23 - Finitism and Ultrafinitism - 15:26 - Continuum Hypothesis Paradoxes - 16:00 - Foundational Mathematical Crisis LINKS MENTIONED: - The Most Abused Theorem in Math [TOE]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OH-ybecvuEo - Dror Bar Natan [TOE]: https://youtu.be/rJz_Badd43c - Hilbert’s Problems: https://mathworld.wolfram.com/HilbertsProblems.html - The Independence of the Continuum Hypothesis [paper]: https://www.pnas.org/doi/pdf/10.1073/pnas.50.6.1143 - Piano arithmetic: https://ncatlab.org/nlab/show/Peano+arithmetic - Cantor’s Diagonal Argument: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335364685_A_Translation_of_G_Cantor's_Ueber_eine_elementare_Frage_der_Mannigfaltigkeitslehre - Hartog’s Construction: paultaylor.eu/trans/HartogsF-wellord.pdf - Cohen’s Forcing Method: https://timothychow.net/forcing.pdf - Norman Wildberger [TOE]: https://youtu.be/l7LvgvunVCM - Woodin’s lecture: https://youtu.be/nVF4N1Ix5WI In Search of Ultimate-L [paper]: https://www.jstor.org/stable/44164514 - Emily Riehl [TOE]: https://youtu.be/mTwvecBthpQ - Sir Roger Penrose [TOE]: https://youtu.be/sGm505TFMbU - Why Write? [article]: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/p/why-write ASSETS USED: - Infinity display: https://youtu.be/osa4ptG5lMg - Number counter: https://youtu.be/HRL5uNGXh9U Guests do not pay to appear. #science Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• Emily Riehl Makes Infinity Categories Elementary 06.04.2026 2h 49min

  Emily Riehl, one of the world’s leading category theorists, shares her vision for making infinity category theory something undergrads can actually learn. In this talk, she breaks down how rethinking the foundations of math could change the way it’s taught and understood—and why it might redefine what math even is. I personally subscribe to The Economist. TOE listeners get 35% off the annual subscription. No other podcast has this! https://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 Links: •⁠ ⁠Emily’s profile: https://emilyriehl.github.io/ •⁠ ⁠Emily’s presentation: https://emilyriehl.github.io/files/undergraduates-TOE.pdf •⁠ ⁠A Type Theory For Synthetic ∞-Categories (paper): https://arxiv.org/pdf/1705.07442 •⁠ ⁠Could ∞-Category Theory Be Taught To Undergraduates? (paper): https://arxiv.org/pdf/2302.07855 •⁠ ⁠RZK proof assistant: https://rzk-lang.github.io/rzk/en/latest/ •⁠ ⁠Lean Zulip chat: https://leanprover.zulipchat.com/#recentnews Timestamps: 00:00 A Dream for the Future 01:55 Exploring Infinity Categories 03:54 The Role of Category Theory 10:17 Key Concepts of Category Theory 12:01 The Curry-Howard Correspondence 15:37 Understanding Left Adjoint Functors 24:38 The Innate Lemma Explained 38:29 Proving the Isomorphism 41:50 The Importance of Abstraction 44:04 A Crash Course in Category Theory 44:17 Introduction to Infinity Category Theory 56:27 Fundamental Infinity Groupoids 1:03:34 What Are Infinity Categories? 1:09:12 The Case for Infinity Categories 1:18:12 Transitioning to Homotopy Type Theory 1:22:49 Crash Course in Homotopy Type Theory 1:30:56 Type Constructors Explained 1:34:19 Propositions as Types 1:42:50 Understanding Dependent Types 1:49:01 Identity Types and Their Importance 1:54:03 The Structure of Infinity Groupoids 1:59:33 Hierarchies of Types 2:06:19 The Univalence Axiom 2:08:36 Transitioning to Infinity Category Theory 2:10:04 Simplicial Type Theory Overview 2:14:56 Pre-Infinity Categories Defined 2:24:32 Isomorphisms in Infinity Categories 2:31:48 Computer Formalization in Mathematics 2:40:02 Conclusion and Future Directions Support TOE on Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs #science Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• Renato Renner: Quantum Mechanics Contains Its Own Contradictions 30.03.2026 3h 26min

  I personally subscribe to The Economist. TOE listeners get 35% off the annual subscription. No other podcast has this! https://economist.com/TOE Renato Renner (ETH Zurich) proves quantum mechanics contains logical contradictions that undermine its foundations.Quantum theory may be the most successful theory in history — and Renato Renner has proved it can't consistently describe itself. This is not a philosophical objection. It's a theorem. From there it spirals into black holes, reference frames, and why some of his students refused to continue working on the subject. This one is a quiet storm, blending the foundations of physics with something uncomfortably personal: the question of what you are. TIMESTAMPS: - 00:00:00 - Quantum Theory's Internal Contradiction - 00:05:51 - Recursive Consistency Checks - 00:11:00 - Wigner’s Friend Paradox - 00:18:11 - Global vs. Local Inconsistency - 00:25:04 - The Inhabitant’s Perspective - 00:31:12 - Modeling Multi-Agent Reasoning - 00:44:25 - Three Fundamental Assumptions - 00:56:36 - Quantum Reference Frames - 01:06:14 - Black Hole Information Paradox - 01:15:06 - Operationalizing Hawking Radiation - 01:24:48 - Realizability of Thought Experiments - 01:41:16 - Emotional Physics: Many Worlds - 01:50:03 - The Limits of Probability - 02:01:06 - Operationalizing the Measurement Problem - 02:15:41 - Generalized Probabilistic Theories - 02:29:16 - Quantum-Gravity Correspondence - 02:40:10 - The Source of Disagreement - 02:56:54 - Physics as Communication LINKS MENTIONED: - Renato's Papers: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=OEBtlWgAAAAJ - Renato's Lecture at Helgoland [Lecture]: https://youtu.be/NxIyldEZzZI - Against Probability [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.18872 - Testing Quantum Theory with Thought Experiments [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/abs/2106.05314 - Quantum Advantage in Cryptography [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/abs/2206.04078 - Quantum Theory Cannot Consistently Describe the Use of Itself [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/abs/1604.07422 - Security of Quantum Key Distribution [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0512258 - Thought Experiments in a Quantum Computer [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/abs/2209.06236 - The Black Hole Information Puzzle [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/abs/2110.14653 - Quanundrum Software: https://github.com/jangnur/Quanundrum - Wigner's Friend: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wigner's_friend - Reimagining of Schrödinger's Cat [Article]: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/reimagining-of-schroedingers-cat-breaks-quantum-mechanics-mdash-and-stumps-physicists1/ - Collapse Theory [Paper]: http://www.psiquadrat.de/downloads/grw86.pdf - Entropy of Hawking Radiation [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/abs/2006.06872 - QBism [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/abs/1003.5209 - Respecting One's Fellow [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/abs/2008.03572 - Why Do Humans Reason? [Paper]: https://www.dan.sperber.fr/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/MercierSperberWhydohumansreason.pdf - Quantum Mechanical Rules for Observed Observers [Paper]: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-47170-2 - Game Theory [Book]: https://amazon.com/dp/0262061414?tag=toe08-20 - Tim Maudlin [TOE]: https://youtu.be/fU1bs5o3nss - Jacob Barandes [TOE]: https://youtu.be/gEK4-XtMwro - Sean Carroll [TOE]: https://youtu.be/9AoRxtYZrZo - David Wallace [TOE]: https://youtu.be/4MjNuJK5RzM - David Bessis [TOE]: https://youtu.be/GHGi_XDqKNw More links at https://curtjaimungal.substack.com Guests do not pay to appear. #science Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal features long-form, technically detailed interviews with leading researchers in physics, mathematics, consciousness, and philosophy, exploring topics at the level of active research. For academics, graduate students, and anyone seeking depth beyond popular science. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• Jenny Wagner: What If We've Been Wrong About Dark Matter For Decades? 26.03.2026 2h 38min

  I personally subscribe to The Economist. TOE listeners get 35% off the annual subscription. No other podcast has this! https://economist.com/TOE Jenny Wagner examines the inverse problem: how to map dark matter without assuming what it is.What if 85% of the universe's matter isn't missing — it's just that our models were never clean enough to know? Dr. Jenny Wagner proves mathematically that every dark matter map ever made is extrapolation. The data only tells you something local. Everything else is a model assumption wearing the costume of evidence. She then connects this to Einstein's own 1917 warning — that homogeneity and isotropy were always a placeholder, never a truth — and makes the case that cosmology is not in crisis. It's finally ready for the next level of detail. TIMESTAMPS: - 00:00 - Dark Matter Model Fallacy - 05:06 - Gravitational Lensing Mechanics - 12:14 - Local vs. Global Information - 21:58 - Statistical Mechanics vs. Gravity - 31:28 - Inverse Problem Methodology - 39:58 - MOND and Modified Gravity - 51:58 - CMB Data Processing Biases - 59:56 - Bullet Cluster Re-evaluation - 01:12:41 - Functional Analysis Breakthrough - 01:24:39 - Challenging the Cosmological Principle - 01:42:44 - Minimalist Neutrino Solutions - 01:51:02 - Naked Singularity Detection - 02:04:27 - AI Limits in Cosmology - 02:11:02 - Scientific Method Evolution LINKS MENTIONED: - Jenny's Site: https://thegravitygrinch.blogspot.com/ - Jenny's Papers: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=HBSfYZIAAAAJ - Millennium Sim.: https://wwwmpa.mpa-garching.mpg.de/galform/virgo/millennium/ - Cosmic Structures (Math): https://arxiv.org/abs/2002.00960 - MOND (Milgrom 1983): https://doi.org/10.1086/160167 - Bullet Cluster JWST: https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.21870 - Much Ado About No Offset: https://arxiv.org/abs/2306.11779 - Model-Indep. Gravitational Lenses: https://arxiv.org/abs/2207.01630 - Einstein's 1917 Cosmo. Paper: https://www.scribd.com/doc/211769217/Cosmological-Considerations-In-The-General-Theory-of-Relativity - Imre Lakatos: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/lakatos/ - Against Cosmological Principle: https://youtu.be/nASUsWQyemc - Obs. Universe & Cosmo. Principle: https://arxiv.org/abs/2207.05765 - Galaxy Cluster Scaling Anisotropy: https://arxiv.org/abs/2103.13904 - Giant Arc on the Sky: https://arxiv.org/abs/2201.06875 - Hassabis AI Lecture: https://www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2024/12/hassabis-lecture.pdf - Concentric Circles: https://arxiv.org/abs/1011.3706 - No Low-Variance Circles: https://arxiv.org/abs/1012.1305 - Cumrun Vafa: https://youtu.be/kUHOoMX4Bqw - Daniel Dennett: https://youtu.be/bH553zzjQlI - David Kaiser: https://youtu.be/_yebLXsIdwo - Roger Penrose: https://youtu.be/iO03t21xhdk - Barry Loewer & Eddy Chen: https://youtu.be/xZnafO__IZ0 - Subir Sarkar: https://youtu.be/epkuoytFJWA - Neil Turok: https://youtu.be/ZUp9x44N3uE - Carlo Rovelli: https://youtu.be/hF4SAketEHY - JB Manchak: https://youtu.be/iGOGxaZZHwE - Jacob Barandes: https://youtu.be/wrUvtqr4wOs - Tim Maudlin: https://youtu.be/fU1bs5o3nss - Michael Levin: https://youtu.be/c8iFtaltX-s - Karl Friston: https://youtu.be/uk4NZorRjCo - Yang-Hui He: https://youtu.be/spIquD_mBFk - Erik Verlinde: https://youtu.be/ilVImMHcr_g - Eva Miranda: https://youtu.be/6XyMepn-AZo - Curt on Determinism: https://youtu.be/tJsghrZQaYU More links at https://curtjaimungal.substack.com Guests do not pay to appear. #science Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal features long-form, technically detailed interviews with leading researchers in physics, mathematics, consciousness, and philosophy, exploring topics at the level of active research. For academics, graduate students, and anyone seeking depth beyond popular science. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• Curt Jaimungal: I'm Worried About Us 19.03.2026 6min

  I personally subscribe to The Economist. TOE listeners get 35% off the annual subscription. No other podcast has this! https://economist.com/TOE Curt Jaimungal argues writing reveals something deeper than output—what LLMs expose about human purpose.Curt Jaimungal argues that in an age where LLMs can produce beautiful prose on demand, we've discovered that output was always just a proxy for something deeper — understanding you can't outsource, especially on the questions that actually matter: death, meaning, identity, morality. Shallowness now wears the robe of eloquence. FOLLOW: - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e - Substack: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/subscribe - Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt - Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs - Crypto: https://commerce.coinbase.com/checkout/de803625-87d3-4300-ab6d-85d4258834a9 - PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=XUBHNMFXUX5S4 TIMESTAMPS: - 00:00 - You Can't Vibe Your Way to Understanding - 02:22 - Shallowness Now Wears the Robe of Eloquence - 04:09 - Why We Never Knew Output Was a Proxy LINKS MENTIONED: - Why Write [Article]: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/p/why-write - 3 Rules of Writing [Article]: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/p/my-3-rules-of-writing - One Push Up [Article]: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/p/this-may-be-one-of-the-most-important - The Most Terrifying Philosopher Encounter I've Encountered [TOE]: https://youtu.be/BWYxRM__TBU - The Abused Theorem in Math [TOE]: https://youtu.be/OH-ybecvuEo Guests do not pay to appear. #science. Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal features long-form, technically detailed interviews with leading researchers in physics, mathematics, consciousness, and philosophy, exploring topics at the level of active research. For academics, graduate students, and anyone seeking depth beyond popular science. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• JB Manchak: Time Travel in Physics and What We Still Don't Know 16.03.2026 2h 17min

  I personally subscribe to The Economist. TOE listeners get 35% off the annual subscription. No other podcast has this! https://economist.com/TOE Curt Jaimungal examines why physicists still can't resolve whether time travel is possible or forbidden.What if you gathered every possible piece of evidence about the universe — every observation, past, present, and future — and it still wasn't enough? That's not a philosophical parlor trick. It's a theorem. J.B. Manchak proves it using the very tools of general relativity, and then connects it to Zen Buddhism's teaching on the self. This one is a quiet storm. TIMESTAMPS: - 00:00:00 - Unknowability of the Universe - 00:05:14 - Space-Time Maximality Metaphysics - 00:11:02 - Time Travel in GR - 00:16:53 - Causal Structure and Topology - 00:24:01 - Cauchy Surfaces and Determinism - 00:32:13 - Solving the Halting Problem - 00:47:38 - Cosmic Censorship Hypothesis - 00:56:58 - The God Point Theorem - 01:02:16 - Global Structure Underdetermination - 01:11:21 - Heraclitus Space-Times Defined - 01:24:22 - Hierarchy of Classical Space-Times - 01:33:08 - The Universe Puzzle Analogy - 01:40:51 - Underdetermination of the Self - 01:51:39 - Zen Buddhism and Non-Self - 02:00:57 - Repeatability and Heraclitus - 02:06:41 - The Power of Slow Thinking Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal features long-form, technically detailed interviews with leading researchers in physics, mathematics, consciousness, and philosophy, exploring topics at the level of active research. For academics, graduate students, and anyone seeking depth beyond popular science. FOLLOW: Substack | Spotify | YouTube | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• Curt Jaimungal: General Relativity Is NOT Deterministic (Here's the Proof) 12.03.2026 21min

  Curt Jaimungal explains why Einstein's general relativity isn't actually deterministic: how Cauchy horizons and closed time-like curves break predictability, and why math and physics don't always guarantee a set future. A solo deep-dive. I personally subscribe to The Economist. TOE listeners get 35% off the annual subscription. No other podcast has this! https://economist.com/TOE FOLLOW: - Substack: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/subscribe - Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt - Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs - Crypto: https://commerce.coinbase.com/checkout/de803625-87d3-4300-ab6d-85d4258834a9 - PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=XUBHNMFXUX5S4 LINKS MENTIONED: - This Cosmologist Discovered Something Strange: https://youtu.be/73IdQGgfxas - The Most Abused Theorem in Math (Gödel's Incompleteness): https://youtu.be/OH-ybecvuEo - Harvard Scientist: "There Is No Quantum Multiverse" | Jacob Barandes [Part 3]: https://youtu.be/wrUvtqr4wOs - The Quantum Mechanics of Time Travel: https://youtu.be/yCQ_3qE6SmQ - The Dangerous Lie About Understanding: https://youtu.be/eASBzSNB8ts - Discovery That Changed Physics! Gravity Is Not a Force!: https://youtu.be/3pZNzF6LBII - Einstein's Amazing Theory of Gravity, Roger Penrose | LMS: https://youtu.be/xAcvNnSrkcM - The Geodesic Equation: https://youtu.be/5_79m-kHxts - Interpretation of the Wavefunction: https://youtu.be/R-5hjmV-bdY - Is the Future Already Set in Stone?: https://youtu.be/JBkB2D-_ZH0 - What Is Astrophysics Actually Explained: https://youtu.be/TCrRs_OBN0E - What Triggered the Big Bang?: https://youtu.be/gup4Cc0Ube0 - Visualization of the Gödel Universe: https://youtu.be/078jOiaevAQ - Iceberg of String Theory: https://youtu.be/X4PdPnQuwjY - The 300-Year-Old Physics Mistake No One Noticed: https://youtu.be/Tghl6aS5A3M - JB Manchak: Spacetime Asymmetry: https://youtu.be/lFbfhISreFY - Carlo Rovelli [TOE]: https://youtu.be/hF4SAketEHY - General Relativity Is Not (Technically) Deterministic: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/p/general-relativity-is-not-deterministic - Strong Cosmic Censorship Conjecture, Van de Moortel: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2501.13180 - Some Black Holes Erase Your Past: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180221091334.htm - Determinism and General Relativity: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2009.07555 - Local Deterministic Models for Singlet Quantum State Correlations: https://arxiv.org/html/2408.09579v1 - Cosmological Spacetimes Without CMC Cauchy Surfaces: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11005-024-01843-7 - Asymptotic Dynamics on the Worldlines for Spinning Particles: https://arxiv.org/abs/2009.07863 - World Line: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_line - Counterexamples in Topology: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-4612-6290-9 - Quantum Charged Black Holes: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2404.07192 - Charged Hayward Black Hole with Cosmological Constant, Quintessence, Cloud of Strings: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2511.02191 - Strong Cosmic Censorship in Charged Black-Hole Spacetimes: Still Subtle: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1808.03631 - Chaos and Deterministic Versus Stochastic Non-Linear Modelling: https://academic.oup.com/jrsssb/article/54/2/303/7035838 - Reopening the Hole Argument, Klaas Landsman: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2206.04943 - Is Time Travel Too Strange to Be Possible?: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1704.02295 Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal features long-form, technically detailed interviews with leading researchers in physics, mathematics, consciousness, and philosophy, exploring topics at the level of active research. For academics, graduate students, and anyone seeking depth beyond popular science. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• John Donoghue: We Have Already Quantized Gravity (And It Works) 11.03.2026 1h 6min

  Professor John Donoghue explains why quantum physics and gravity actually work perfectly together. He tackles quadratic gravity, effective field theory, and random dynamics, arguing that grand unification and naturalness aren't required for a theory of everything. I personally subscribe to The Economist. TOE listeners get 35% off the annual subscription. No other podcast has this! https://economist.com/TOE SUPPORT: - Support me on Substack: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/subscribe - Support me on Crypto: https://commerce.coinbase.com/checkout/de803625-87d3-4300-ab6d-85d4258834a9 - Support me on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=XUBHNMFXUX5S4 JOIN MY SUBSTACK (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com LISTEN ON SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e TIMESTAMPS: - 00:00:00 - Limits of Quantum Mechanics - 00:06:35 - Effective Field Theory - 00:12:24 - Gravity: Geometry or Force? - 00:18:46 - QFT and Gravity Tension - 00:24:59 - Quadratic Gravity Theory - 00:34:16 - Dueling Arrows of Causality - 00:41:57 - Random Dynamics and Anti-Unification - 00:48:13 - The Naturalness Problem - 00:53:40 - Questioning Hidden Assumptions LINKS MENTIONED: - John's lectures: https://www.youtube.com/@johndonoghue469/featured - John's papers: https://arxiv.org/a/donoghue_j_1.html - The Renormalization Group and Critical Phenomena [Paper]: https://www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2018/06/wilson-lecture-2.pdf - Anthropic Considerations in Multiple-Domain Theories [Paper]: https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.80.1822 - Old "Ghost" Theory of Quantum Gravity Makes a Comeback [Article]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/old-ghost-theory-of-quantum-gravity-makes-a-comeback-20251117/ - Unitarity, Stability and Loops of Unstable Ghosts [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1908.02416 - An Effective Field Theory of Gravity for Extended Objects [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/abs/hep-th/0409156 - Not Quite a Black Hole [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1612.04889 - On Quadratic Gravity [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2112.01974 - Quadratic Gravity [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1804.09944 - Renormalization of Higher Derivative Quantum Gravity [Paper]: http://www.weylmann.com/stelle.pdf - Quantum Theory in a Nutshell [Book]: https://www.amazon.com/Quantum-Field-Theory-Nutshell-nutshell/dp/0691140340 - Field Theory: A Modern Primer [Book]: https://www.amazon.com/Field-Theory-Modern-Frontiers-Physics/dp/0201546116 - Origin of Symmetries [Book]: https://amzn.to/4qxnLzj - String Theory Iceberg [TOE]: https://youtu.be/X4PdPnQuwjY - Neil Turok [TOE]: https://youtu.be/zNZCa1pVE20 - Avshalom Elitzur [TOE]: https://youtu.be/pWRAaimQT1E - Sir Roger Penrose [TOE]: https://youtu.be/iO03t21xhdk - Ted Jacobson [TOE]: https://youtu.be/3mhctWlXyV8 - Leonard Susskind [TOE]: https://youtu.be/2p_Hlm6aCok - Jonathan Oppenheim [TOE]: https://youtu.be/NKOd8imBa2s - Peter Woit [TOE]: https://youtu.be/TTSeqsCgxj8 - Joseph Conlon & Peter Woit [TOE]: https://youtu.be/fAaXk_WoQqQ - Michael Levin [TOE]: https://youtu.be/c8iFtaltX-s Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal features long-form, technically detailed interviews with leading researchers in physics, mathematics, consciousness, and philosophy, exploring topics at the level of active research. For academics, graduate students, and anyone seeking depth beyond popular science. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• Nir Lahav: What If Consciousness Follows the Rules of Relativity? 05.03.2026 3h 8min

  I personally subscribe to The Economist. TOE listeners get 35% off the annual subscription. No other podcast has this! https://economist.com/TOE Physicist Nir Lahav proposes a relativistic theory of consciousness: subjective experience as a genuine physical property manifested only from within a cognitive system's own internal simulation. No prior background in physics or philosophy required. SUPPORT: - Support me on Substack: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/subscribe - Support me on Crypto: https://commerce.coinbase.com/checkout/de803625-87d3-4300-ab6d-85d4258834a9 - Support me on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=XUBHNMFXUX5S4 JOIN MY SUBSTACK (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com LISTEN ON SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e LINKS MENTIONED: - Nir's Website: https://www.lahavnir.com/about-me - Nir's Papers: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=LFMD5RkAAAAJ - Nir's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Nir.Lahav - Nir's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thewonderofscience9863/videos - A Relativistic Theory of Consciousness [Paper]: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.704270/full - Church-Turing Thesis: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/church-turing/ - What Is It Like to Be a Bat? [Paper]: https://www.sas.upenn.edu/~cavitch/pdf-library/Nagel_Bat.pdf - On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies [TOE]: https://users.physics.ox.ac.uk/~rtaylor/teaching/specrel.pdf - Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems [Book]: https://amazon.com/dp/037575766X?tag=toe08-20 - Discourse on Metaphysics [Book]: https://amazon.com/dp/1474457789?tag=toe08-20 - The Foundation of the General Theory of Relativity [Paper]: https://sites.pitt.edu/~jdnorton/teaching/cosmology_2025/pdf/Einstein_Extension_Relativity_1916.pdf - Some Functional Effects of Sectioning the Cerebral Commissures in Man [Paper]: https://www.pnas.org/doi/epdf/10.1073/pnas.48.10.1765 - Reasoning or Reciting? [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/abs/2307.02477 - The Conscious Mind [Book]: https://amazon.com/dp/0195117891?tag=toe08-20 - Consciousness Iceberg [TOE]: https://youtu.be/65yjqIDghEk - Michael Levin [TOE]: https://youtu.be/c8iFtaltX-s - Karl Friston [TOE]: https://youtu.be/2v7LBABwZKA - Daniel Dennett [TOE]: https://youtu.be/bH553zzjQlI - Bernardo Kastrup [TOE]: https://youtu.be/lAB21FAXCDE - Joscha Bach [TOE]: https://youtu.be/3MNBxfrmfmI - Matt Segall [TOE]: https://youtu.be/DeTm4fSXpbM - Leo Gura [TOE]: https://youtu.be/YspFR9JAq3w - What Is Energy, Actually? [TOE]: https://youtu.be/hQk9GLZ0Fms - Plato's Cave [TOE]: https://youtu.be/PurNlwnxwfY - Iain McGilchrist [TOE]: https://youtu.be/Q9sBKCd2HD0 - Andres Emilsson: https://youtu.be/BBP8WZpYp0Y - Ruth Kastner [TOE]: https://youtu.be/-BsHh3_vCMQ - Urs Schreiber [TOE]: https://youtu.be/1KUhLHlgG2Q - Ted Jacobson [TOE]: https://youtu.be/3mhctWlXyV8 - Stephen Wolfram [TOE]: https://youtu.be/0YRlQQw0d-4 - Emily Adlam and Jacob Barandes [TOE]: https://youtu.be/rw1ewLJUgOg - David Chalmers [TOE]: https://youtu.be/RH5qjdHhtBk - Donald Hoffman and Philip Goff [TOE]: https://youtu.be/MmaIBxkqcT4 - Donald Hoffman [TOE]: https://youtu.be/CmieNQH7Q4w - Michael Levin and Anil Seth [TOE]: https://youtu.be/_kuwwmFnxGY - Elan Barenholtz [TOE]: https://youtu.be/A36OumnSrWY - Geoffrey Hinton [TOE]: https://youtu.be/b_DUft-BdIE Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal features long-form, technically detailed interviews with leading researchers in physics, mathematics, consciousness, and philosophy, exploring topics at the level of active research. For academics, graduate students, and anyone seeking depth beyond popular science. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• Curt Jaimungal: Why Neil deGrasse Tyson Gets "Belief" Wrong 02.03.2026 16min

  Curt Jaimungal argues that astrophysicists like Neil deGrasse Tyson and spiritual gurus Deepak Chopra and Thomas Campbell can’t logically claim they don’t hold beliefs. This “Theories of Everything” with Curt Jaimungal episode uses analytic philosophy to show why belief’s vital for understanding physics and consciousness, countering what Thomas Campbell and NASA scientist Nathalie Cabrol say. I personally subscribe to The Economist. TOE listeners get 35% off the annual subscription. No other podcast has this! https://economist.com/TOE TIMESTAMPS: - 00:00 - The "No Belief" Fallacy - 03:00 - Faith vs. Propositional Belief - 04:57 - Implicit Belief in Hypotheses - 07:10 - van Fraassen’s Constructive Empiricism - 11:51 - Fallibilism and Epistemic Virtue SUPPORT: - Support me on Substack: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/subscribe - Support me on Crypto: https://commerce.coinbase.com/checkout/de803625-87d3-4300-ab6d-85d4258834a9 - Support me on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=XUBHNMFXUX5S4 JOIN MY SUBSTACK (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com LISTEN ON SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e LINKS MENTIONED: - Neil deGrasse Tyson [TOE]: https://youtu.be/HhWWlJFwTqs - Kierkegaard: The Most Terrifying Philosopher I've Encountered [TOE]: https://youtu.be/BWYxRM__TBU - Curt Interviews NASA Scientist on NPR: https://youtu.be/C8zrfZq1XEs - Bayesian Epistemology: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/epistemology-bayesian/ - Belief: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/belief/ - The Norm Of Assertion: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29684696/ - Truth And Objectivity [Book]: https://amazon.com/dp/0674910877?tag=toe08-20 - Constructive Empiricism Now [Paper]: https://www.princeton.edu/~fraassen/articles/pdfs/CE_Now.pdf - Willard Quine: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/quine/ SOCIALS: - Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt - Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs Guests do not pay to appear. Theories of Everything receives revenue solely from viewer donations, platform ads, and clearly labelled sponsors; no guest or associated entity has ever given compensation, directly or through intermediaries. #science Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal features long-form, technically detailed interviews with leading researchers in physics, mathematics, consciousness, and philosophy, exploring topics at the level of active research. For academics, graduate students, and anyone seeking depth beyond popular science. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• David Bessis: What Mathematics Really Is and How to Learn It 23.02.2026 2h 18min

  What is mathematics, really? Mathematician David Bessis joins me to argue that math isn't about numbers in a Platonic realm or a meaningless game of symbols—it's a cognitive technology for rewiring your brain. We explore why the official definitions of mathematics have been unresolved for 2,300 years, why understanding something means finding it obvious, and how the gap between a beginner and Terence Tao looks less like genetic destiny and more like compound interest on intuition. When asked what mathematics fundamentally is, his answer cuts through millennia of philosophy: it's what happens in your head when you pretend something is true until it feels real. LINKS MENTIONED: Papers, books, websites: - https://davidbessis.substack.com/ - https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=YmJL9KwAAAAJ - https://amazon.com/dp/0300283288?tag=toe08-20 - https://davidbessis.substack.com/p/the-magic-of-mathematical-intuition - https://davidbessis.substack.com/p/weve-been-wrong-about-math-for-2300 - https://arxiv.org/abs/math/9404236 - https://amazon.com/dp/0387900926?tag=toe08-20 - https://davidbessis.substack.com/p/the-curious-case-of-broken-theorems - https://mathworld.wolfram.com/FermatsLastTheorem.html - https://xenaproject.wordpress.com/2024/12/11/fermats-last-theorem-how-its-going/ - https://gwern.net/doc/math/1979-hersh.pdf - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_universals - https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/set-theory/zf.html - https://imperialcollegelondon.github.io/FLT/blueprint/ - https://amazon.com/dp/1015393233?tag=toe08-20 - https://annals.math.princeton.edu/2015/181-3/p01 - https://arxiv.org/abs/math/0610778 - https://pi.math.cornell.edu/~bts82/events/homotopyF20/notes/bar-construction-typed.pdf - https://www.edge.org/conversation/reuben_hersh-reuben-hersh-1927-2020 - https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Ramanujan/ - https://amazon.com/dp/1107536510?tag=toe08-20 - https://viennot.org/abjc-lectures.html - https://pdf.sciencedirectassets.com/272332/1-s2.0-S0021869306X06555/1-s2.0-S0021869305006150/main.pdf Videos: - https://youtu.be/tYgiVnQubyw - https://youtu.be/RX1tZv_Nv4Y - https://youtu.be/73IdQGgfxas - https://youtu.be/lhpRAWxvY5s - https://youtu.be/rJz_Badd43c - https://youtu.be/c8iFtaltX-s - https://youtu.be/81sPQGIWEfM - https://youtu.be/wbP0KjWm0pw - https://youtu.be/mTwvecBthpQ - https://youtu.be/_sTDSO74D8Q - https://youtu.be/DeTm4fSXpbM SOCIALS: - Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt - Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs Guests do not pay to appear. Theories of Everything receives revenue solely from viewer donations, platform ads, and clearly labelled SPONSOR: I personally subscribe to The Economist. TOE listeners get 35% off the annual subscription. No other podcast has this! https://economist.com/TOE FOLLOW: Substack | Spotify | YouTube | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices