Do the Experimental Violations of Bell Inequalities Require a Non-Local Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics？

Since the data show that Bell inequalities are violated experimentally, we must conclude that any hidden variable theory （which correctly predicts experimental data ） will be non-local. But, to conclude that the experimental violations of Bell inequalities show quantum mechanics to be non-local is unjustified. Specifically, the key assumptions required to obtain a Bell inequality are （ 1 ） locality and （2） the assignment of meaningful （ non- negative） probabilities to seemingly physical correlations （Bell expresses these correlations via ＂ hidden variables＂ ）. Since the Bell inequality is violated by experiment, at least one of these assumptions is wrong. The widespread conclusion that locality must be relinquished is valid only if we retain the previously mentioned correlations （ ＂hidden variables＂ ）. We will demonstrate that the latter are not physical observables - they are not elements of physical reality.