Quantum Physics Is An Unnecessary Complication, Physicists Say

TL;DR

Two MIT physicists claim classical physics can replace quantum mechanics, but Sabine Hossenfelder argues their math is simply wrong.

Key Points

• 1.Two MIT physicists claim quantum mechanics is unnecessary. Their paper argues classical, non-quantum paths with assigned probabilities can replace Feynman's path integrals and reproduce quantum results — which would be the biggest physics advancement in decades.
• 2.Their method improves on Feynman's path integral by removing quantum weirdness. Instead of summing all possible paths with complex phases, they assign classical probabilities to standard non-quantum paths and sum them differently, reportedly reproducing results for double-slit, atomic spectra, and Bell's inequality.
• 3.Hossenfelder rates the paper 10/10 on the 'bullshit meter.' Despite being peer-reviewed, she believes the math is wrong — the authors effectively insert the solution by hand, making it work only for their chosen examples rather than as a general derivation.
• 4.ChatGPT, Claude, and Grok all independently flagged the same flaw instantly. All three AIs identified the exact same error that took Hossenfelder an hour to find, raising questions about whether journals should use AI as a basic peer-review screening tool.