A Wisdom Archive on Random

Random: Refers to events that are, in principle, haphazard and unpredictable.
 
See also Chance .

 
(See also: Random, Psychic, Psychic Dictionary, Parapsychology, Parapsychology Dictionary )

For more dictionary entries, see » random dictionary

"Unpredictable" random numbers were first investigated in the context of gambling, and many randomizing devices such as dice, shuffling playing cards, and roulette wheels, were first developed for use in gambling. Fairly produced random numbers are vital to electronic gambling and ways of creating them are sometimes regulated by governmental gaming commissions. "Random" numbers are also used for non-gambling purposes, both where their use is mathematically important, such as sampling for opinion polls, and in situations where "fairnes ...

Read more here: » Randomness: Encyclopedia II - Randomness - Applications and use of randomness

Humankind has been concerned with randomness since prehistoric times, mostly through divination (reading messages in random patterns) and gambling. The opposition between free will and determinism has been a divisive issue in philosophy and theology. Despite the prevalence of gambling in all times and cultures, for a long time there was little western inquiry into the subject, possibly due to the Church's disapproval of gambling and divination. Though Gerolamo Cardano and Galileo have written about games of chance, it was work by Blaise Pascal, Pierre de Fermat and Christiaan Huygens that led to what ...

Read more here: » Randomness: Encyclopedia II - Randomness - History

Randomness should not be confused with practical unpredictability, which is a related idea in ordinary usage. Some mathematical systems, for example, could be seen as random; however they are actually unpredictable. This is due to sensitive dependence on initial conditions (see chaos theory). Many random phenomena may exhibit organized features at some levels. For example, while the average rate of increase in the human population is quite predictable, in the short term, the actual timing of individual births and deaths ...

Read more here: » Randomness: Encyclopedia II - Randomness - Randomness versus unpredictability

Random numbers have uses in physics (such as noise resonance studies), engineering, and operations research. Many methods of statistical analysis, such as the bootstrap method, require random numbers. Monte Carlo methods in physics and computer science require random numbers to function. Applications of randomness - Statistical sampling. Statistical practice is based on statistical theory which, itself is founded on the concept of randomness. Many elements of statistical practice depend on the emulation of ...

Read more here: » Applications of randomness: Encyclopedia II - Applications of randomness - Science

A ubiquitous use of unpredictable random numbers is in cryptography which underlies most of the attempts to provide security in modern communications (e.g., confidentiality, authentication, electronic commerce, etc.). For example, if a user wants to use an encryption algorithm, it is best that they select a random number as the key. These numbers must be completely unguessable to anyone else. The only way to practically manufacture such numbers is to use random numbers. If this is not done properly, security can be compromised. For ex ...

Read more here: » Applications of randomness: Encyclopedia II - Applications of randomness - Cryptography

A random number generator is a computational or physical device designed to generate a sequence of numbers that does not have any easily discernable pattern, so that the sequence can be treated as being random. Random number generators have existed since ancient times, in the form of dice and coin flipping, the shuffling of playing cards, the use of yarrow stalks in the I Ching, and many other methods. Random number generator - True random numbers vs. pseudo-random numbers. Main article: pseudo-ran ... Including:

• Random number generator - True random numbers vs. pseudo-random numbers
• Random number generator - Generating random numbers from physical processes
• Random number generator - Post-processing and statistical checks
• Random number generator - Uses of random numbers
• Random number generator - Low-discrepancy sequences as an alternative

Read more here: » Random number generator: Encyclopedia - Random number generator

Popular perceptions of randomness are frequently wrong, based on logical fallacies. Following is an attempt to identify the source of such fallacies and correct the logical errors. For a more detailed discussion, see Gambler's Fallacy. Randomness - A number is due. This argument says that "since all numbers will eventually come up in a random selection, those that have not come up yet are 'due' and thus more likely to come up soon". This logic is only correct if applied to a system where numbers that come ...

Read more here: » Randomness: Encyclopedia II - Randomness - Misconceptions/logical fallacies

Applications of randomness - Games. Unpredictable random numbers were first investigated in the context of gambling, and many randomizing devices such as dice, shuffling playing cards, and roulette wheels, were first developed for use in games of chance. Fairly produced random numbers are vital to electronic gambling and ways of creating them are sometimes regulated by governmental gaming commissions. Modern electronic casino games contain often one or more random number generators that decide the outcome ...

Read more here: » Applications of randomness: Encyclopedia II - Applications of randomness - Early uses

Computers use RAM to hold the program code and data during computation. A defining characteristic of RAM is that all memory locations can be accessed at almost the same speed. Most other technologies have inherent delays for reading a particular bit or byte. Early main memory systems built from vacuum tubes behaved much like modern RAM, except the devices failed frequently. Core memory, which used wires attached to small ferrite electromagnetic cores, also had roughly equal access time (the term “core” is still used by some progra ...

Read more here: » Random access memory: Encyclopedia II - Random access memory - Overview

The clearest example of randomness occurs in the problem of arranging items in an art exhibit. Usually this is avoided by using a theme. As John Cage pointed out, "While there are many ways that sounds might be produced [ie, in terms of patterns], few are attempted". Similarly, the arrangement of art in exhibits is often deliberately non-random. One case of this was Hitler's attempt to portray modern art in the worst possible light by arranging works in worst possible manner. A case can be made for trying to make art in the worst possible way; ie, either as anti-a ...

Read more here: » Applications of randomness: Encyclopedia II - Applications of randomness - Literature music and art

Random access memory - Common. Static RAM (SRAM) Non-Volatile RAM (NV-RAM) Dynamic RAM (DRAM) Fast Page Mode DRAM EDO RAM or Extended Data Out DRAM XDR DRAM SDRAM or Synchronous DRAM DDR SDRAM or Double Data Rate Synchronous DRAM; now being replaced by DDR2 RDRAM or Rambus DRAM Random access memory - Uncommon. Dual-ported RAM Video RAM, a dual-port memory ...

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The term "memory wall," first officially coined in Hitting the Memory Wall: Implications of the Obvious, refers to the growing disparity between CPU and memory speed. From 1986 to 2000, CPU speed improved at an annual rate of 55% while memory speed only improved at 10%. Given these trends, it was expected that memory latency would become an overwhelming bottleneck in computer performance. Currently, CPU speed improvements have slowed significantly which in part can be attributed to major physical barriers and in part to the fact that ...

Read more here: » Random access memory: Encyclopedia II - Random access memory - The memory wall