Explanatory Strain and Entanglement: 2 Temporal Smuggling in Entanglement

In the previous post, we examined the metaphor of electrons that "decide" their spin. Here, we focus on the temporal structure implied by that metaphor, and why it is a classic example of explanatory strain.

Gribbin writes that “at the moment electron A 'decides' to be spin up, electron B must be spin down, no matter how far apart the two electrons are.” This phrasing introduces a subtle but consequential temporal narrative: electron A acts first, electron B responds instantaneously. The appearance of cause-and-effect across space seems undeniable, but the temporal framing is misleading.

The correlation between entangled electrons is not the result of a sequence of actions. No electron waits for the other to act, and no information is transmitted between them. The “moment” in which electron A chooses is a human-centric way of narrating what is actually a constraint on joint outcomes. By translating a structural constraint into a temporal story, the explanation smuggles in the familiar logic of causal interaction: something happens first, something else reacts.

This pseudo-temporal framing encourages a kind of explanatory anxiety: how could the second electron know what the first has done without violating relativity? The mystery feels real because the narrative imposes a temporal sequence that the phenomena themselves do not require.

What is really happening is simpler: the system of two entangled electrons defines a structured potential for joint spin outcomes. Each measurement event is an instantiation of that potential. The correlation is encoded in the structure; it is not a causal signal or decision transmitted in time. Once this distinction is recognised, there is no need to imagine electron B being influenced by electron A, or to worry about faster-than-light communication. The “spooky action” dissolves as a product of our explanatory language, not as a physical requirement.

In the next post, we will look at the broader pattern of correlations: why it seems as though electrons are coordinating their behaviour across space, and why this pattern does not entail any form of communication or joint causation.