  This is a comment on J. A. Barrett's article ``The Preferred-Basis Problem
and the Quantum Mechanics of Everything'' in Brit. J. Phil. Sci. 56 (2005),
which concerns theories postulating that certain quantum observables have
determinate values, corresponding to additional (often called ``hidden'')
variables. I point out that it is far from clear, for most observables, what
such a postulate is supposed to mean, unless the postulated additional variable
is related to a clear ontology in space-time, such as particle world lines,
string world sheets, or fields.
