Hidden variables and Bell’s theorem: Local or not?

Bell’s inequality is an empirical constrainton theories with hidden variables,which Einstein, Podolsky and Rosenargued are needed to explain observed perfect correlationsif keeping locality. One way to deal with the empirical violation of Bell’s inequality is by openly embracing nonlocality, in a theory like the pilot-wave theory.Nonetheless, recent proposals have revived the possibility that one can avoid nonlocality by resorting to superdeterministic theories. These are local hidden variables theories which violatestatistical independence which isone assumption ofBell’s inequality. In this paper I compare and contrast these two hidden variable strategies: the pilot-wave theory and superdeterminism. I show that even if the former is nonlocal and the other is not, both are contextual. Nonetheless, in contrast with the pilot-wave theory, superdeterministcontextuality makes it impossible totest the theory (which therefore becomes unfalsifiable and unconfirmable) and rendersthe theory uninformative (measurement results tell us nothing about the system). It is questionable therefore whether a theory with these features is worth its costs.