Mail Archives: djgpp/1998/03/24/15:18:41
Erik Max Francis wrote:
> It doesn't. There's no such thing as an algorithmically generated
> randon number, because it was always generated by an algorithm.
>
> Pseudorandom number sequences strive to be rather random, but ultimately
> they are generated by an algorithm and thus are 100% predictable. The
> goal is to find a sequence that's very hard to predict.
A good reference on pseudorandom number generators (with a special
emphasis on theory) can be found in Knuth's magnum opus _The Art of Computer
Programming_, vol 2. Most of chapter 3 deals with how to tell whether a
particular generator is "sufficiently random" for one's purposes. In
Section 3.5, Knuth waxes philosophical on what is meant by "random,"
attempting to obtain a decent definition. Not for the mathematically faint
of heart, though, (some proofs presuppose advanced calculus).
Jason
- Raw text -