Hidden Variable

Hidden variables may refer to:

  • Hidden variable theories, in physics, the proposition that statistical models of physical systems (such as Quantum Mechanics) are inherently incomplete, and that the apparent randomness of a system depends not on collapsing wave functions, but rather due to unseen or unmeasurable (and thus "hidden") variables. In sharp contrast to the generally accepted Copenhagen Interpretation.
  • Latent variables, in statistics, variables that are inferred from other observed variables
  • Hidden transformation, in computer science, a way to transform a generic constraint satisfaction problem into a binary one by introducing new hidden variables
  • Confounding or hidden variables in general. That is, a variable that actually creates the illusion of a causal relation (e.g. firemen often appear after smoke, not because smoke causes firemen, but because fire causes both smoke and firemen)

Famous quotes containing the words hidden and/or variable:

    “It is very hard to give a just definition of love. The most we can say of it is this: that in the soul, it is a desire to rule; in the spirit, it is a sympathy; and in the body, it is but a hidden and subtle desire to possess—after many mysteries—what one loves.”
    —François, Duc De La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680)

    “There is not so variable a thing in nature as a lady’s head-dress.”
    —Joseph Addison (1672–1719)