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What if the most successful theory in science… doesn't actually explain anything?

In this episode of Into the Impossible, I talk with physicist and author Adam Becker, who wrote What Is Real?, a stunning exploration of quantum mechanics, its messy philosophical roots, and the long-ignored questions about what the theory really says about reality.

We dig deep into a paradox at the heart of modern physics: quantum mechanics works better than any theory we’ve ever invented, yet no one agrees on what it means. Becker walks us through the forgotten history of physicists like Einstein and David Bohm, who dared to question the mainstream “shut up and calculate” mindset, and explains why that mindset might be holding science back.

We explore the eerie predictions of the Many Worlds Interpretation, the mind-bending implications of Bell’s Theorem, and how modern experiments—some Nobel Prize-winning—are forcing physicists to confront uncomfortable truths about locality, realism, and the nature of observation.

If you’ve ever wondered whether quantum physics is just math, or if it really describes the world we live in, this conversation will challenge everything you thought you knew.

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Key Takeaways: 

00:00 Intro

02:01 Interpretations of quantum mechanics 

05:04 Einstein’s discontent with quantum mechanics

08:01 EPR paradox

10:16 Many-worlds interpretation and Everettian mechanics 

17:37 John Bell and Bell’s theorem 

23:43 Experimental tests of quantum mechanics  

27:21 Quantum computing and its promises

29:17 What is real? 

31:56 Outro

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Additional resources: 

➡️ Learn more about Adam:

💻 Website: https://freelanceastrophysicist.com/ 

📚 What Is Real? By Adam Becker: https://a.co/d/5xxMYTj

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✖️ Twitter:⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/DrBrianKeating⁠⁠⁠ 

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📝 Join my mailing list:⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://briankeating.com/list⁠⁠⁠ 

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Into the Impossible with Brian Keating is a podcast dedicated to all those who want to explore the universe within and beyond the known.

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