Yes, it is possible that the physicists will come across a way of predicting
exactly when a radioactive atom will decay, but current thinking is that
this is not the case. The lack of hidden variables (like little alarm clocks
in the nucleus which we haven't detected yet) was proved in 1964 by John
Bell and subsequently tested experimentally. Calling this an "intellectual
cop-out" isn't fair. The underlying true randomness of the universe is an
intellectually challenging concept which even had Einstein worried (God
doesn't play dice).
Dan Bebber
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