Bernstein, Gary Abraham: The Theory of Everything Must Be Short

The search for a theory of everything has been framed as a unification problem: find one framework that reconciles quantum mechanics and general relativity. This paper argues it should be framed as a compression problem. Under algorithmic probability, the correct theory of everything is the shortest description that reproduces all observation. The Standard Model plus general relativity requires approximately 390 bits of specification: 26 free parameters, each to measured precision, plus the gaug