nucleation

LIT-298: The problem of hidden variables in quantum mechanics

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Properties5
StatusActive — read in full 2026-09-29 (NOTE-279); worth reading. It is the primary source of the Kochen–Specker theorem and of the partial-algebra formulation that the sheaf and topos programmes generalise. The 117-vector construction is superseded for economy by later small KS sets (e.g. Peres's 33, Cabello's 18 in dimension 4); the review LIT-263 covers those.
Version2
Tagscontextuality, quantum-foundations, logic
Cited as “paper” byNOTE-279 — The problem of hidden variables in quantum mechanics
Cited as “source” byTHEORY-020 — Every Boolean algebra is the clopen algebra of its Stone space of prime ideals, and a finite one is the power set of its atoms, so a single Boolean context always has two-valued valuations and the Kochen–Specker obstruction lies in how contexts overlap

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Simon Kochen, Ernst P. Specker (1967), Journal of Mathematics and Mechanics 17(1):59–87 (now Indiana Univ. Math. J.) — DOI-10.1512/iumj.1968.17.17004

Standing in the record

Registered on 2026-09-29 at the owner’s request, because the owner’s prior-art novelty map (a private working document on concepts as projectors, the linear representation hypothesis and their neighbours) cites it: row 8: the no-global-valuation theorem behind “no global ultrafilter/tope”; not to be confused with Budroni et al. review (LIT-263) already held. It is seeded from metadata and published descriptions and has not been read here. Only the year of first publication is known; published: uses 1 January.

Identification notes: DOI carries “1968” though vol. 17 is dated 1967; Crossref issue year 1967. Nucleation LIT-263 (Budroni 2021 review “Kochen-Specker contextuality”) is a review ABOUT KS, not KS 1967.

It was filed Deferred, unread. NOTE-279 is the close reading of 2026-09-29, and it placed the work: Active — worth reading. It is the primary source of the Kochen–Specker theorem and of the partial-algebra formulation that the sheaf and topos programmes generalise. The 117-vector construction is superseded for economy by later small KS sets (e.g. Peres’s 33, Cabello’s 18 in dimension 4); the review LIT-263 covers those.

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