hidden variables
Unseen causal factors
Hidden variables are hypothetical factors that, if known, would explain seemingly random or probabilistic outcomes.
The term is most prominent in physics, where hidden variable theories propose that quantum mechanics appears random only because we lack access to deeper, deterministic information.
Einstein famously championed hidden variables, uncomfortable with quantum randomness: God does not play dice.
Bell's theorem later showed that certain hidden variable theories conflict with experimental results.
In statistics, a hidden variable (or latent variable) is an unmeasured factor influencing observed data: The correlation disappeared once we controlled for the hidden variable of income.
- physicsScience of matter and energy
- entanglementState of being intertwined
- quantum mechanicsPhysics at nanoscopic scales
- nonlocalityCorrelations without spatial contact
- decoherenceLoss of quantum coherence
wave function · uncertainty principle · behind the scenes · under the hood · pulling strings · superposition · Schrödinger's cat · determinism · Bell · observer effect · measurement problem · quantum state · obscured · underlying · latent · cryptic · missing piece · smoking gun
- Quantum Mechanicssuperposition, entanglement, wave function, uncertainty principle, Schrodinger equation
- Bohm Physicsnonlocality
- graphical modelsnode, nodes, edge, edges, factor
- Physics Philosophydeterminism, causality, spacetime, measurement problem, locality
- Quantum InterpretationsCopenhagen, Everett, relational, transactional, modal
- Quantum PhilosophyCopenhagen interpretation, measurement problem, superposition, decoherence, complementarity