Standard Lemma guide

superdeterminism

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

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Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A form of determinism that precludes the assumption, made by Bell's theorem, that an experimenter can make measurements that are independent of each other and of any hidden variables.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Qualifier: quantum mechanics

Topics: natural-sciences, physical-sciences, physics

Examples

  • In the context of Bell's theorem, superdeterminism represents a hypothesis whereby a key assumption of the theorem—that it is possible to make measurements that are independent both of each other and of any hidden variables that would determine the measurement outcome—is not fulfilled, and so the theorem is inapplicable.
  • 2016, Gerard 't Hooft, The Cellular Automaton Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics, Fundamental Theories of Physics: Volume 185, Springer, page 4, Bell noticed that superdeterminism could provide a loophole around his theorem, but as most researchers also today, he was quick to dismiss it as "absurd". As we hope to be able to demonstrate, however, superdeterminism may not quite be absurd as it seems.
  • 2021, Sabine Hossenfelder, Tim Palmer, Rethinking Superdeterminism, Alberto Casado, Ana Maria Cetto, Karl Hess, Andrea Valdés-Hernández (editors), Towards a Local Realist View of the Quantum Phenomenon, Frontiers Media (Frontiers in Physics), page 20, Superdeterminism is frequently acknowledged as experimentally unclosed loophole (see e.g., [2]) with which one can explain deterministically the observed violations of Bell's inequality. However, for a variety of reasons, many physicists think Superdeterminism is a non-starter.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From super- + determinism.

Across languages

Translations

5 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • French: superdéterminisme — form of determinism that negates a key assumption of Bell's theorem
  • German: Superdeterminismus — form of determinism that negates a key assumption of Bell's theorem
  • Italian: superdeterminismo — form of determinism that negates a key assumption of Bell's theorem
  • Polish: superdeterminizm — form of determinism that negates a key assumption of Bell's theorem
  • Portuguese: superdeterminismo — form of determinism that negates a key assumption of Bell's theorem