Superdeterminism is a proposed way to explain quantum correlations (like Bell-type entanglement correlations) without invoking nonlocality.

the classical puzzle

Bell’s theorem shows:

• you can’t have local realism and

• freely choose the measurement settings

• and

• reproduce quantum predictions

If you insist on local causes inside spacetime, something has to give.

what superdeterminism gives up

superdeterminism says:

the “free choice” of what measurement to make was itself already causally correlated with the hidden variables of the particles.

i.e. when a Bell experimenter freely chooses between measuring polarization at angle A or B… that “freedom” is an illusion. The universe’s initial conditions already encoded which choice you’d “make”, in a precise way that lines up with the particle’s hidden variables, so that the correlations are baked in from the beginning.

So:

• particles and human choices share a common cause in the past.

• the experimental settings are not independent random variables.

why physicists dislike it (philosophically)

Because this implies a kind of cosmic conspiracy: everything is tuned so your choices line up to mimic quantum weirdness. It denies what we normally call “measurement independence.”

People say: it makes the world look like we’re puppets of initial conditions.

But this is just aesthetics. Physics doesn’t guarantee we get to preserve any particular philosophical taste.

why some take it seriously

Hossenfelder Hooft and some others argue:

• it might be the only way to re-localize quantum mechanics

• instead of nonlocal spooky action

• instead of many worlds

• instead of objective collapse

• etc.

Also: if “choices” are produced by physical processes, and those processes are determined, why privilege them as independent random inputs?

the core move

superdeterminism replaces measurement independence with common-cause correlation.

If the universe started in a specific, highly structured state, then deterministic evolution could yield the appearance of Bell violations while still being completely local.

in short

superdeterminism = Bell correlations come from initial conditions + full determinism + no free independent choices.

Quantum weirdness becomes:

not magic
not multiverse
but correlated determinism from the beginning of time.

The fight is then: can you actually build a mathematically concrete model that implements this and reproduces QM? That’s the real frontier.