Randomness: Difference between revisions

The concept of randomness is at first glance easy to understand: random events are those generated by chance. However, on closer investigation, the definition above is seen to be circular. Randomness should also not be confused with impredictability, as demonstrated by the existence of deterministic chaos.

Randomness in everyday experience

In ordinary language, the word "random" is used to express apparent lack of purpose or cause. [I am afraid anything else I might want to say here already falls under "philosophy"]

Randomness in mathematics

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Defining randomness is a hard problem in modern science, mathematics, psychology and philosophy.

Randomness is investigated in a number of fields, including statistics and algorithmic information theory.

Many physical processes are believed to be random, including nuclear decay reactions.

Randomness is central to games of chance and vital to the gambling industry.

Random draws are often used to make a decision where no rational or fair basis exists for making a deterministic decision.

Access to a source of high-quality randomness is important in many applications of cryptography.

Deviations from randomness are often regarded by parapsychologists as evidence for the theories of parapsychology.

this is a stub article for this important concept

Books:

• Randomness by Deborah J. Bennett. Harvard University Press, 1998. ISBN 0674107454
• The Art of Computer Programming. Vol. 2: Seminumerical Algorithms, 3rd ed. by Donald Knuth, Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1997. ISBN 0-201-89684-2

See also:

• Chaos theory
• Determinism
• Free will
• Game theory
• Probability theory
• Quantum mechanics
• Random variable
• Random number
• Stochastic process

External links:

• Can you behave randomly?
• Chaitin: Randomness and Mathematical Proof