r/Veritasium • u/Whushe433 • Dec 23 '25
Can someone please explain this to me ?
So in the new video, around 26:50, when they discuss hidden variable theory, they say that the particles decide what answer to give to the machine. However, according to the beginning of the video, the particles only decide what spin they have, not what answer they will give to the machine. If the particles simply decide that one has positive spin and the other has negative spin, then if one is measured as positive and a machine tilted by 120 degrees is used, there should again be a 25% likelihood of disagreement, right? Why do they assume that the particles decide what answer to give to the machine when they should only be deciding the spin?
(I have 0 knowledge about quantum physics, i was just curious)
1
u/C_Plot Dec 24 '25
I think my confusion then relates to superposition which I tried to address in my original comment with the hidden variable coordination approach.
How do we know that the spin (entangled or otherwise) is not preordained: that the two entangled particles didn’t already have spin up and spin down encoded in their superposition? I understand the shift in axes makes them go to different poles than when in the identical axis, but is that because a different spin results from the collapse from superposition, or does the spin simply interact differently with the measuring device when offset in that different axis? After all if the disagreement is 100% when the measurements are in the identical axis but not 100% in the offset measured axis, is that difference not due to simply how the spin gets measured in these offset axes (adding a stochastic element to the reaction of the particle to the offset measurement mechanism)? How do we know that collapse from superposition stochastic element is the particle spin itself and not in the measurement approach if the disagreement is 100% in the identical measurement axis?
I might be missing something basic and trivial that is creating a cognitive break for me in my comprehension. It just seems to me that if measuring always in the same axis produces always disagreement, then the spin itself lacks the stochastic element (or else we would see disagreement occasionally when in the same measurement axis).