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Pseudorandom Generators
A pseudorandom sequence of numbers is one that appears to be statistically random, despite having been produced by a completely deterministic and repeatable process. Pseudorandom number generators are often used in computer programming, as traditional sources of randomness available to humans (such as rolling dice) rely on physical processes not readily available to computer programs, although developments in hardware random number generator technology have challenged this. Background The generation of random numbers has many uses, such as for random sampling, Monte Carlo methods, board games, or gambling. In physics, however, most processes, such as gravitational acceleration, are deterministic, meaning that they always produce the same outcome from the same starting point. Some notable exceptions are radioactive decay and quantum measurement, which are both modeled as being truly random processes in the underlying physics. Since these processes are not practical sources of ra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Statistical Randomness
A numeric sequence is said to be statistically random when it contains no recognizable patterns or regularities; sequences such as the results of an ideal dice, dice roll or the digits of pi, π exhibit statistical randomness. Statistical randomness does not necessarily imply "true" randomness, i.e., objective Predictability, unpredictability. Pseudorandomness is sufficient for many uses, such as statistics, hence the name ''statistical'' randomness. ''Global randomness'' and ''local randomness'' are different. Most philosophical conceptions of randomness are global—because they are based on the idea that "in the long run" a sequence looks truly random, even if certain sub-sequences would ''not'' look random. In a "truly" random sequence of numbers of sufficient length, for example, it is probable there would be long sequences of nothing but repeating numbers, though on the whole the sequence might be random. ''Local'' randomness refers to the idea that there can be minimum s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |