Questions relating to (pseudo)randomness, random oracles, and stochastic processes.
Questions tagged [random]
1860 questions
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Is a number chosen at random necessarily irrational?
If I were to pick a number completely at random in the range [0,1), it seems to me that number would be irrational.
After all, there are a countably infinite number of rationals between zero and one, but an uncountably infinite number of…
Michael Lorton
- 205
4
votes
1 answer
Bays-Durham Shuffling
Reading "Random number generation and Monte Carlo methods" by James E. Gentle, I encountered an example concerning the Bays-Durham Shuffling algorithm whose result I can't reproduce.
Basically, such an example is written in Random Number Generation…
r_31415
- 2,934
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Create a new pseudo-random number based on a seed, using simple formulae
I'm trying to create a function that takes two integer inputs (one < 30, one < 15), and which creates a pseudo-random value between 1 and 50.
My first attempt is something like this:
sum the two numbers
flip the digits around (with 2 becoming…
Tominator
- 143
4
votes
3 answers
Fair Coin No-Trust Protocol possible?
Alice and Bob have divorced (Bob had an affair with Eve ).
Now they quarrel about who gets the computer. They could throw a fair coin, but alas, they aren't at the same place. Neither do they trust each other or any mediator (otherwise they could…
Hauke Reddmann
- 735
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votes
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Pen and paper pseudo-random number generator
tl;dr
How can I generate pseudo-random numbers using only pen and paper?
Uniform distribution (or as close as possible)
It's pen writing on paper; can't cut, fold, throw or anything like that
I'm expecting some formula or algorithm, but a geometric…
caxcaxcoatl
- 153
4
votes
4 answers
How can I randomly distribute water into buckets without the buckets overflowing?
I asked this question a week ago but it ended up being closed for not being specific enough. I am going to try and define everything as mathematically as possible in this one, so please let me know if there is anything ambiguous.
How can I randomly…
interrupt0
- 43
4
votes
2 answers
Pencil-and-paper random number generator
I was picking football teams for my office's weekly "pick'em pool", and decided to pick randomly.
Since I only had a pencil and a legal pad handy, and I only needed outputs of 0 or 1 (0 being the home team wins, 1 being the away team wins) I…
MadmenDiver
- 41
4
votes
2 answers
How to generate random numbers with Laplace distribution using uniform distribution
I want to prove that transfrom $x=\ln\frac{y_1}{y_2}$ generate random numbers with Laplace distribution where $y_1$ and $y_2$ are unifom random numbers $U \sim (0,1)$.
And also transform $x=y_1-y_2$ generate random numbers with Laplace distribution…
xyz
- 45
4
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3 answers
Is average of two random directions also a random direction?
Given two uniformly random directions on a hemisphere, n0 and n1, is the normalized sum of these vectors also a uniformly random direction on the same hemisphere?
Andreas Brinck
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Mathematically what are random numbers?
One topic in mathematics and computer science that always confused me were random numbers. I tried searching for the exact meaning but it feels kind of abstract and incomplete.
Mathematically random numbers are defined as
Random numbers are…
minusSeven
- 141
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What constitutes randomness?
To begin with, I am not a mathematician, so the question might sound dumb :)
Anyway, I have been playing 2048 and thinking on randomness and some things just do not seem very straight to me, when considering what is random.
Given a sequence $S=1, 2,…
friendzis
- 133
3
votes
1 answer
Probability statement of a 16-bit random number generator.
I am trying to understand the actual implications for the following statement regarding a 16-bit random number generator for the tag from the EPC Generation 2, UHF RFID specification, section 6.3.2.7. that states:
Probability of a single RN16: The…
b degnan
- 225
3
votes
1 answer
gap test for random numbers
I'm in process of learning 'gap test' for random numbers in discrete event system simulation. I happened to have the fourth edition of this book by Jerry Banks. Unfortunately , this edition doesn't have any info about this test. I'm trying to learn…
Antony Ajay
- 33
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votes
1 answer
Interpretation of Random Forest's Variance Importance
I am working on a project which involves fitting a housing dataset and predict resale housing price using the random forest model - according to the Variance Importance plot, I made the following interpretation. (Refer to this image for plot…
user8963146
- 31
3
votes
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Picking random numbers as long as they keep decreasing. Expected number of numbers you pick?
Pick a random number (evenly distributed) between $0$ and $1$. Continue picking
random numbers as long as they keep decreasing; stop picking when you obtain a
number that is greater than the previous one you picked. What is the expected
number of…
