The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science Advance Access originally published online on May 3, 2007
The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 2007 58(2):355-360; doi:10.1093/bjps/axm003
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Determinate Values for Quantum Observables
Mathematisches Institut, Eberhard-Karls-Unversität, Auf der Morgenstelle 10, 72076 Tübingen, Germany. tumulka{at}everest.mathematik.uni-tuebingen.de
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This is a comment on J. A. Barrett's article The Preferred-Basis Problem and the Quantum Mechanics of Everything ([2005]), which concerns theories postulating that certain quantum observables have determinate values, corresponding to additional (often called hidden) variables. I point out that it is far from clear, for most observables, what such a postulate is supposed to mean, unless the postulated additional variable is related to a clear ontology in space-time, such as particle world lines, string world sheets, or fields.