Does free will stand up to the unpredictability of quantum physics? Some scientists believe that new experiments could resolve whether our choices are truly our own or shaped by hidden rules of nature.
In a recent study, researchers proposed a method to explore whether we have complete choice in quantum scenarios or only partial control.
According to Adán Cabello of the University of Seville, personal opinions are irrelevant. He emphasized that only what can be proven through math and experiments truly matters.
Cabello worked alongside Ravishankar Ramanathan and Carlos Vieira at The University of Hong Kong to investigate how freedom of choice holds up in entangled settings.
Our sense of autonomy has always been tied to deep questions about mind and matter. Non-locality is a feature in quantum science that shows how measurements on pairs of entangled particles can stay in sync even if they’re separated by large distances.
One way to explore this is by testing Bell’s inequality, a measure that has often signaled that quantum effects can’t be explained by classical rules alone.
Teams have tested special arrangements to see if hidden factors control how experimental devices operate, limiting free will.
Still, such investigations need to rule out any shortcuts by which signals or instructions might leak into the process.
“This is done now,” said Nicolas Gisin at the University of Geneva in Switzerland. He was referring to repeated efforts showing that quantum correlations violate classical predictions in a robust way.
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