The Physicist Who Proved Free Will Using Thermodynamics

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 Physicist and philosopher Jenann Ismael joins to unveil a radical idea: free will isn’t an illusion, it’s a physical reality grounded in thermodynamics and relativity. In this conversation, Jenann explains why no system, not even a perfect computer, can predict its own future, and how this inherent unpredictability opens the door to real agency. We explore the paradox of identity, the limits of determinism, the role of memory in selfhood, and why your choices truly come from you. This is the clearest, most rigorous defense of free will in the age of physics. Join My New Substack (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 01:42 Free Will 29:16 The Limits of Predictability 41:45 Defining Free Will 59:42 Life and Cognition in the Universe 1:05:30 The Choices We Make 1:08:01 Dark Nights of the Soul 1:09:35 Philosophical Responses to Free Will 1:11:03 Personal Reflections on Life 1:11:54 The Weight of Loss 1:13:40 Patterns of Persistence 1:17:17 Understanding the Self 1:18:41 The Continuity of Existence 1:20:17 The Nature of Mortality 1:22:27 Time and Its Mysteries 1:51:42 The Nature of Existence 2:04:23 The Paradox of Newcomb's Dilemma 2:08:38 Lessons Learned from Suffering Links Mentioned: •⁠ ⁠How Physics Makes Us Free [Book]: https://amzn.to/44CcHr8 •⁠ ⁠Why Physics Should Care About The Mind [Paper]: https://www.jenanni.com/wp-content/uploads/Why-physics-should-care-about-the-mind-and-how-to-think-about-it-without-worrying-about-the-mind-body-problem.pdf •⁠ ⁠Diana Pasulka [TOE]: https://youtu.be/E5MuTHUbMUs •⁠ ⁠Leonard Susskind [TOE]: https://youtu.be/2p_Hlm6aCok •⁠ ⁠Sean Carroll [TOE]: https://youtu.be/9AoRxtYZrZo •⁠ ⁠Matt Segall [TOE]: https://youtu.be/DeTm4fSXpbM •⁠ ⁠Tim Maudlin [TOE]: https://youtu.be/fU1bs5o3nss •⁠ ⁠David Lewis’s Metaphysics: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/lewis-metaphysics/#Bib •⁠ ⁠Robert Sapolsky [TOE]: https://youtu.be/z0IqA1hYKY8 •⁠ ⁠David Lewis’s Books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B000APAW62 •⁠ ⁠Stephen Wolfram [TOE]: https://youtu.be/0YRlQQw0d-4 •⁠ ⁠Roy Baumeister [TOE]: https://youtu.be/aXoK-C2c2AQ •⁠ ⁠Free Will Ontoprism [TOE]: https://youtu.be/SSbUCEleJhg •⁠ ⁠Michael Levin [TOE]: https://youtu.be/c8iFtaltX-s •⁠ ⁠Dark Night Of The Soul: https://basilica.ca/documents/2016/10/St.%20John%20of%20the%20Cross-Dark%20night%20of%20the%20soul.pdf •⁠ ⁠George Musser [TOE]: https://youtu.be/KVy3NeXpMaI •⁠ ⁠Tim Maudlin & Tim Palmer [TOE]: https://youtu.be/883R3JlZHXE SUPPORT: - Become a YouTube Member (Early Access Videos): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdWIQh9DGG6uhJk8eyIFl1w/join - Support me on Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal - 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 SOCIALS: - Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt - Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs #science Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the first conversation (with Eric Weinstein) in 40 years on Geometric Unity. In this rare, unscripted conversation, Eric Weinstein reveals the core of Geometric Unity, his decades-in-the-making theory. For the first time, Weinstein opens up fully about dark matter, the missing generations, peer review, and the potential flake of GU that quietly changed the world. This is the theory he believes is the answer. 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://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction to Geometric Unity 06:50 Simplifying GU for Understanding 07:58 The Philosophical Implications of Physics 11:24 The Relationship Between Quantum and Classical 14:15 The Role of Generations in Physics 27:58 The Concept of Restricted Data 32:30 The Importance of Clear Communication 36:59 The Challenges of Explaining GU 38:14 The Value of Recognizing Contributions 49:34 The Story Behind the Seiberg-Witten Equations 1:06:12 A Critical View of Modern Physics 1:11:59 Establishing Criteria for Valid Theories 1:14:32 The Challenge of Quantization in GU 1:21:00 The Power of Non-Positive Definite Killing Forms 1:26:33 The Importance of Steelmanning in Science 1:32:11 Understanding GU 1:36:09 The Nature of Supersymmetry 1:37:30 Supersymmetry and Its Misunderstandings 1:46:30 Honoring Contributions in Physics 1:53:06 The Injustice of Peer Review 1:56:33 The Struggle for Recognition 2:06:02 The Academic Critique of GU 2:06:51 The Challenge of Communicating GU 2:23:05 Reactions to GU in Academia 2:52:57 The Future of GU Discussions 2:58:49 Reflections on the Journey of GU Links Mentioned: •⁠ ⁠Curt explains Eric’s Geometric Unity theory: https://youtu.be/AThFAxF7Mgw •⁠ ⁠Eric’s Oxford lecture on Geometric Unity: https://youtu.be/Z7rd04KzLcg •⁠ ⁠Garrett Lisi discusses his theory of everything on TOE: https://youtu.be/z7ulJmfFvd8 •⁠ ⁠Peter Woit discusses unification on TOE: https://youtu.be/9z3JYb_g2Qs •⁠ ⁠Stephen Wolfram discusses observers on TOE: https://youtu.be/0YRlQQw0d-4 •⁠ ⁠Richard Behiel’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@RichBehiel/videos •⁠ ⁠Curt criticizes the idea of “explain like I’m 5”: https://youtu.be/eASBzSNB8ts •⁠ ⁠Eric’s first appearance on TOE: https://youtu.be/KElq_MLO1kw •⁠ ⁠Eva Miranda discusses geometric quantization on TOE: https://youtu.be/6XyMepn-AZo •⁠ ⁠Edward Frankel discusses the Geometric Langlands Correspondence on TOE: https://youtu.be/RX1tZv_Nv4Y •⁠ ⁠Emily Riehl discusses infinity categories on TOE: https://youtu.be/mTwvecBthpQ •⁠ ⁠Gregory Chaitin discusses the halt of scientific innovation on TOE: https://youtu.be/guQIkV6yCik •⁠ ⁠Curt criticizes Gödel’s incompleteness theorem pop sci on TOE: https://youtu.be/OH-ybecvuEo •⁠ ⁠Curt debunks the “all possible paths” myth: https://youtu.be/XcY3ZtgYis0 •⁠ ⁠Sean Carroll discusses the crisis in fundamental physics on TOE: https://youtu.be/9AoRxtYZrZo •⁠ ⁠Amanda Gefter discusses quantum mechanics on TOE: https://youtu.be/yABPvDJ6Zgs •⁠ ⁠Lee Cronin discusses Terrence Howard on TOE: https://youtu.be/8xAYf7tYrNk SUPPORT: •⁠ ⁠Become a YouTube Member (Early Access Videos): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdWIQh9DGG6uhJk8eyIFl1w/join •⁠ ⁠Support me on Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal •⁠ ⁠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 #science Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices