241 | Tim Maudlin on Locality, Hidden Variables, and Quantum Foundations

<p>Last year's Nobel Prize for experimental tests of Bell's Theorem was the first Nobel in the foundations of quantum mechanics since Max Born in 1954. Quantum foundations is enjoying a bit of a resurgence, inspired in part by improving quantum technology but also by a realization that understanding quantum mechanics might help with other problems in physics (and be important in its own right). Tim Maudlin is a leading philosopher of physics and also a skeptic of the Everett interpretation. We discuss the logic behind hidden-variable approaches such as Bohmian mechanics, and also the broader question of the importance of the foundations of physics.</p> <p>S<em>upport Mindscape on </em><a href="https://www.patreon.com/seanmcarroll" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Patreon</em></a><em>.</em></p> <p>Blog post with transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2023/06/26/241-tim-maudlin-on-locality-hidden-variables-and-quantum-foundations/</p> <p>Tim Maudlin received his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Pittsburgh. He is currently a professor of philosophy at New York University. He is a member of the Academie Internationale de Philosophie des Sciences and the Foundational Questions Institute (FQXi). He has been a Guggenheim Fellow. He is the founder and director of the <a href="https://www.johnbellinstitute.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">John Bell Institute for the Foundations of Physics</a> in Croatia.</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.tim-maudlin.site/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Web site</a></li> <li><a href="https://as.nyu.edu/faculty/tim-maudlin.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NYU web page</a></li> <li><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=WGu-WUIAAAAJ&amp;hl=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Google Scholar publications</a></li> <li><a href="https://philpeople.org/profiles/tim-maudlin" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">PhilPeople profile</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/stores/Tim-Maudlin/author/B001IXTOQO?ref=ap_rdr&amp;store_ref=ap_rdr&amp;isDramIntegrated=true&amp;shoppingPortalEnabled=true" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Amazon author page</a></li> <li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Maudlin" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/a-permanent-home-for-the-john-bell-institute" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Contribute to the John Bell Institute!</a></li> </ul> <p><br /></p>