hidden variable
Unseen causal element
A hidden variable is a factor or quantity that influences outcomes but isn't directly observed or measured.
The term appears most often in physics, where hidden variable theories propose that quantum mechanics is incomplete and that unobserved variables might explain seemingly random quantum behavior.
In statistics and research, hidden variables are unaccounted-for factors that may distort apparent relationships between measured variables.
The correlation disappeared once we controlled for the hidden variable of income level.
- entanglementState of being intertwined
- quantum theoryDiscrete-energy framework for subatomic phenomena
- quantum physicsStudy of nanoscopic phenomena
- potentialityCapacity to develop
- behind the scenesOut of public view
under the hood · missing piece · determinism · smoking gun · probabilistic · quantum mechanics · epistemology · completeness · virtual particle · dark matter · measurement problem · subconscious mind · Schrödinger's cat · causality · metaphysics · implicit bias · unknown unknown · decoherence