Theory and Background

SINCE its inception in the beginning of the 20th century, quantum mechanics has been subject to continuous discussion and controversy. In this chapter, we will give both a historical and technical overview of some particular aspect of this controversy, namely, the possibility of completing quantum mechanics with so-called hidden variables. In particular, we will focus on ‘no-go’ theorems, which may be used to put empirical limits on any possible completions. We will gradually work our way towards the Kochen-Specker theorem and examine the question of its experimental testability.