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+ 6

What is randomness?

And how does a program create a random number?

29th Nov 2017, 3:35 PM
SirDancealot
SirDancealot - avatar
10 Answers
+ 23
It's me 😅
1st Sep 2018, 8:43 PM
Randomness
Randomness - avatar
+ 2
Randomness is something that doesn't follow any type of flow or process to reach its end; not predetermined or having a method that reaches it. A program creates a random number by pretending that it's random. lol Really it's more about making people feel like something is random than it is actually making something random. Honestly, in all of the cases where I've seen true randomness take place, developers had to go in and make true random seem "more random." Humans are good at noticing patterns, and when you notice a pattern in something that you think should be random, you feel like it isn't random. Often, many people use time as a means of simulating randomness, but there are many ways of accomplishing the same task.
29th Nov 2017, 3:44 PM
AgentSmith
+ 2
@SirDancealot Many people use time in their "random" calculations because time has changed every time you check it. This makes it easier to seemingly obtain a random number because you can just calculate against time to get a new number each time.
29th Nov 2017, 4:51 PM
AgentSmith
+ 1
Creating random number depends on the language
29th Nov 2017, 3:42 PM
Elegis Sossou
Elegis Sossou - avatar
+ 1
As you said, essentially, we're not creating true random numbers, but numbers that appear random to our ability to perceive pattern. Whether I use time or any other value to generate my number, it's not truly random. However, perception is all you need anyways, doesn't matter if it's truly random or just appears random. As for unpredictability, that doesn't mean random, but random is unpredictable. Just like red doesn't mean apple, but an apple can be red. Unpredictable is relative to your ability to predict an outcome, but doesn't necessarily mean the outcome itself was generated at random. RANDOM: made, done, happening, or chosen without method or conscious decision. UNPREDICTABLE: not able to be predicted.
29th Nov 2017, 4:48 PM
AgentSmith
0
I've been thinking about it and i thought randomness cannot be programmed.Because randomness is kind of chaos and program is a pattern.So in programs we use pseudorandom numbers then? So randomness doesn't exist in reality but in idea?
29th Nov 2017, 3:51 PM
SirDancealot
SirDancealot - avatar
0
This says here that "in theory completely unpredictable". In the true random number generator.
29th Nov 2017, 4:22 PM
SirDancealot
SirDancealot - avatar
0
Theoretically means in idea and in idea 4th dimension or irreal numbers exist but in reality they don't. You are right about unpredictable equals random i guess but this isn't about that. I wonder if true randomness exists.
29th Nov 2017, 4:30 PM
SirDancealot
SirDancealot - avatar
0
I mean is there a practically unpredictable (random) number generator?
29th Nov 2017, 4:35 PM
SirDancealot
SirDancealot - avatar
0
If we were to flip coin and i were to know all the facts like who is gonna flip it how the person is like, the weather conditions at the moment etc. I would have known if it is heads or tails.
29th Nov 2017, 4:40 PM
SirDancealot
SirDancealot - avatar