Random Numbers
Ben Gunderson (beng@ucla.edu)
Sat, 25 Nov 95 23:33:37 -0800
First I would like to say randomness does exist, what do you think this
class is about. Computers do generate random numbers, and the numbers are
as close to an even distruibution as possible, but they are not exactly
even. There is a function that generates a number based on an instruction
set, multiplies that number by another number then is divided by a third
number, with the remainder over one becoming your randomness, and then
the remainder is added to the multiplier and devider. Something else you
should know, when you first turn on a computer all the registers are
filled with junk or random junk, this can also be considered a computer
generated random number. The first menchioned function is the one that
computers use, but this function that generate randomness needs a seed,
This seed comes form the static junk random number created at power up. If
two programs that generate random numbers, have the same seed, they will
generate two identical list of numbers. So to put it another way only the
first number is random, but is still generated by the computer,but not by
an instruction set. Every number after the first follows a function that
approxiates an even distribution.
Ben Gunderson, CS&E major
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