Roger Colbeck, Perimeter Institute
Abstract
Classical mechanics is a deterministic theory: given a complete description of the universe, we can in principle predict its future evolution. This is not the case in quantum theory, which asserts that the outcomes of particular measurements are probabilistic. Can we be sure this is the case? Could there be a higher theory providing more information about the outcomes? I will answer this question in the negative, showing that, under the assumption that measurement settings are chosen freely, no higher theory can give even a small amount of additional information about the experimental outcomes. I will also discuss weakening this assumption, providing arguably the strongest evidence to date for the existence of truly random processes in nature.
Based on arXiv:1005.5173 and arXiv:1105.3195.