547:(i.e., unpredictability) to any attacker, thus increasing attack difficulty. With keys having low entropy (i.e., relatively easily guessable by attackers), security is likely to be compromised. To illustrate, imagine if a simple 32 bit linear congruential pseudo-random number generator of the type supplied with most programming languages (e.g., as the 'rand' or 'rnd' function) is used as a source of keys. There will only be some four billion possible values produced before the generator repeats itself. A suitably motivated adversary could simply test them all; this is practical as of 2010, using readily available computers. Even if a linear congruential RNG is used with 1000-bit parameters, it is a simple exercise in linear algebra to recover the modulus m, and the constants a and b, where x' = ax +b (mod m), given only five consecutive values. Even if a better random number generator is used, it might be insecure (e.g., the
258:, where mechanical reels seem to spin on the screen, the reels are actually spinning for entertainment value only. They eventually stop exactly where the machine's software decided they would stop when the handle was first pulled. It has been alleged that some gaming machines' software is deliberately biased to prevent true randomness, in the interests of maximizing their owners' revenue; the history of biased machines in the gambling industry is the reason government inspectors attempt to supervise the machines—electronic equipment has extended the range of supervision. Some thefts from casinos have used clever modifications of internal software to bias the outcomes of the machines—at least in those which have been discovered. Gambling establishments keep close track of machine payouts in an attempt to detect such alterations.
625:. All are available to an enterprising attacker. Put another way, in cryptography, random bit streams need to be not only random, but also secret and hence unpredictable. Public or third-party sources of random values, or random values computed from publicly observable phenomena (weather, sports game results, stock prices), are almost never cryptographically acceptable. Their use may be tempting, but in reality, they permit easier attacks than attacking the cryptography.
32:
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For cryptographic purposes, one normally assumes some upper limit on the work an adversary can do (usually this limit is astronomically sized). If one has a pseudo-random number generator whose output is "sufficiently difficult" to predict, one can generate true random numbers to use as the initial
449:
from an astronomical source and then analyze the result for periodic signals. Since random noise can be expected to appear to have faint periodic signals embedded in it, statistical analysis is required to determine the likelihood that a detected signal actually represents a genuine signal. Such
645:
An example of a need for randomness sometimes occurs in 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 , few are attempted". Similarly, the arrangement of art in exhibits is often
298:
to be essentially undemocratic. This was because citizens chosen on merit or popularity contradicted the democratic equality of all citizenry. In addition, allotment prevented the corrupt practice of buying votes as no one could know who would be selected as a magistrate, or to sit on a
641:
Some aesthetic theories claim to be based on randomness in one way or another. Little testing is done in these situations, and so claims of reliance on and use of randomness are generally poorly based in definite theory and more on an impression of randomness from technical fields.
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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; i.e., either as
555:, forcing the authors to quickly find a source of "more random" random numbers.) For these applications, truly random numbers are ideal, and very high quality pseudo-random numbers are necessary if truly random numbers, such as coming from a
695:
Now I, as the author of this novel might have them set upon by thieves, or I might have them rest by a tree until the rain stops, but in fact they kept on walking and then near night-fall they could see the light of an inn in the distance.
632:
at most, slow random number generators serve well—if they are actually random. This use of random generators is important; many informed observers believe every computer should have a way to generate true random numbers.
594:"truerand"). As with all cryptographic software, there are subtle issues beyond those discussed here, so care is certainly indicated in actual practice. In any case, it is sometimes impossible to avoid the need for true (i.e.,
466:
of real phenomena are commonly used. When the real phenomena are affected by unpredictable processes, such as radio noise or day-to-day weather, these processes can be simulated using random or pseudo-random numbers.
700:
Diderot was making the point that the novel (then a recent introduction to
European literature) seemed random (in the sense of being invented out of thin air by the author, not in a modern technical sense). See also
656:, as well as many other movements in art and letters, has attempted to accommodate and acknowledge randomness in various ways. Often people mistake order for randomness based on lack of information; e.g.,
243:. Electronic gambling equipment cannot use these and so theoretical problems are less easy to avoid; methods of creating them are sometimes regulated by governmental gaming commissions.
202:. For example, applications in cryptography usually have strict requirements, whereas other uses (such as generating a "quote of the day") can use a looser standard of pseudorandomness.
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in an attempt to predict the scope of an event in near future. The intent is to prove that large-scale events that are about to happen build up a "pressure" which affects the RNGs.
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1037:
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analysis methods requires the generation of random numbers. If the statistical method is extremely sensitive to patterns in the data (such as those used to search for binary
1035:
Pluchino, A.; Garofalo, C.; Rapisarda, A.; Spagano, S.; Caserta, M. (2011). "Accidental
Politicians: How Randomly Selected Legislators Can Improve Parliament Efficiency".
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value (i.e., the seed), and then use the pseudo-random number generator to produce numbers for use in cryptographic applications. Such random number generators are called
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algorithm. Furthermore, those random sequences cannot be reused and must never become available to any attacker, which implies a continuously operable generator. See
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might be guessable), producing predictable keys and reducing security to nil. (A vulnerability of this sort was famously discovered in an early release of
261:
Random draws are often used to make a decision where no rational or fair basis exists for making a deterministic decision, or to make unpredictable moves.
49:
327:. Proposals have been made for its use in government such as a new constitution for Iraq and various proposals for Upper Houses chosen by allotment—see
390:. Many elements of statistical practice depend on randomness via random numbers. Where those random numbers fail to be actually random, any subsequent
1084:
Caserta, Maurizio; Pluchino, Alessandro; Rapisarda, Andrea; Spagano, Salvatore (2021). "Why lot? How sortition could help representative democracy".
493:. More complicated situations are simulation of population genetics, or the behaviour of sub-atomic particles. Such simulation methods, often called
773:
Other examples include selecting, or generating, a "Random Quote of the Day" for a website, or determining which way a villain might move in a
664:'s abstractions (e.g., "For E.M."). Thus, in some theories of art, all art is random in that it's "just paint and canvas" (the explanation of
929:
Carson, Lyn (2006). "Avoiding
Ghettos of Like-Minded People: Random Selection and Organizational Collaboration". In Schuman, Sandy (ed.).
96:
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Carson, Lyn; Lubensky, Ron (May 2009). "Appointments to Boards and
Committees via Lottery, A Pathway to Fairness and Diversity".
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880:"... it is thought to be democratic for the offices to be assigned by lot, for them to be elected is oligarchic."
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Similarly, the "unexpected" ending is part of the nature of interesting literature. An example of this is
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582:, and several have been implemented (for example, the /dev/urandom device available on most Unixes, the
520:, which underlies most of the schemes which attempt to provide security in modern communications (e.g.,
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Truly random numbers are absolutely required to be assured of the theoretical security provided by the
331:. Scholars have studied the potential of random selection of personnel in politics and organizations.
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were first constructed to carry out computer simulation of physical phenomena, notably simulation of
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in physics rely on a statistical analysis of their output. For example, an experiment might collect
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The
Political Potential of Sortition: A Study of the Random Selection of Citizens for Public Office
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for an example of what happens when these requirements are violated when using a one-time pad.
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from the people and regularly changed. Although it may seem strange to those used to modern
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Creating a
Culture Of Collaboration: The International Association of Facilitators Handbook
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published random sequence is a poor choice, as are such sequences as the digits in an
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The
Athenian Democracy in the Age of Demosthenes: Structure, Principles, and Ideology
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methods, have many applications in computer simulation of real-world processes.
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Random numbers are also used in situations where "fairness" is approximated by
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Pek, Simon (2019). "Rekindling Union
Democracy Through the Use of Sortition".
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454:), very large amounts of data with no recognizable pattern are needed.
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504:, monitor fluctuations in the randomness of numbers generated by many
691:). At one point in the novel, Diderot speaks directly to the reader:
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Unpredictable (by the humans involved) numbers (usually taken to be
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of statistical events, a very simple example being the outcome of
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which decide the outcome of a trial in the game. Even in modern
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Uses of an apparent lack of pattern or predictability in events
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The Luck of the Draw: The Role of
Lotteries in Decision-Making
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Since most cryptographic applications require a few thousand
852:. The Ancient World. Oxford, UK; Cambridge, MA: Blackwell.
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Reform of the House of Lords § Allotment (sortition)
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cryptographically secure pseudo-random number generators
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in physics and computer science require random numbers.
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A ubiquitous use of unpredictable random numbers is in
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commands the
Israelites to apportion the land by lot.
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Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications
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Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications
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Since a requirement in cryptography is high entropy,
539:, it is best that they select a random number as the
355:. Many methods of statistical analysis, such as the
219:numbers) were first investigated in the context of
56:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
402:of the population being examined, disguising the
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239:wheels, seem to have been developed for use in
223:developing, sometimes, pathological forms like
1127:. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press.
485:Pseudo-random numbers are frequently used in
8:
500:Some more speculative projects, such as the
386:which is, itself, founded on the concept of
462:In many scientific and engineering fields,
1133:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199756100.001.0001
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163:helps scientists to test hypotheses, and
116:Learn how and when to remove this message
888:
886:
19:For broader coverage of this topic, see
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535:For example, if a user wants to use an
566:— the only provably unbreakable
319:in Anglo-Saxon legal systems like the
7:
315:, is today used in the selection of
178:These uses have different levels of
54:adding citations to reliable sources
977:Carson, Lyn; Martin, Brian (1999).
421:(for determining samples - such as
406:of a study from a participant (see
227:. Many randomizing devices such as
689:Jacques the Servant and his Master
14:
784:are also closely associated with
506:hardware random number generators
417:These applications are useful in
382:Statistical practice is based on
366:Random numbers are often used in
294:, the Athenian Greeks considered
155:, and other fields. For example,
1175:https://flipcoins.net/en/numbers
557:hardware random number generator
429:(for example in the creation of
359:method, require random numbers.
250:games contain often one or more
30:
543:. The selection must have high
41:needs additional citations for
200:pseudorandom number generators
1:
650:, or as actually random art.
278:developed out of a notion of
979:Random Selection in Politics
598:) random number generators.
502:Global Consciousness Project
339:Random numbers have uses in
161:randomized controlled trials
65:"Applications of randomness"
1108:10.1016/j.physa.2020.125430
1069:10.1016/j.physa.2011.06.028
683:; sometimes referred to as
408:randomized controlled trial
1206:
1190:Applications of randomness
1007:Journal of Business Ethics
592:AT&T Bell Laboratories
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1020:10.1007/s10551-017-3526-2
981:. Westport, CT: Praeger.
958:Journal of Public Affairs
637:Literature, music and art
394:analysis may suffer from
171:help video games such as
760:military draft lotteries
472:random number generators
345:electronic noise studies
252:random number generators
196:random number generators
893:Dowlen, Oliver (2008).
311:Allotment, also called
233:shuffling playing cards
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615:transcendental numbers
1123:Stone, Peter (2011).
846:Hansen, Mogens Herman
707:Theatre of the Absurd
590:designs, server, and
194:, as well as between
1045:(21–22): 3944–3954.
754:, such as selecting
685:Jacques the Fatalist
677:Jacques le fataliste
537:encryption algorithm
464:computer simulations
378:Statistical sampling
169:pseudorandom numbers
50:improve this article
1100:2021PhyA..56525430C
1061:2011PhyA..390.3944P
736:indeterminate music
662:Helen Frankenthaler
660:'s drip paintings,
559:, are unavailable.
530:electronic commerce
431:double-blind trials
427:experimental design
361:Monte Carlo methods
353:operations research
188:pseudorandomization
797:sorting algorithms
720:'s chance-derived
681:James the Fatalist
553:Netscape Navigator
384:statistical theory
276:Athenian democracy
270:Athenian democracy
246:Modern electronic
192:quasirandomization
1170:http://random.org
809:Black swan theory
607:irrational number
476:neutron transport
292:liberal democracy
274:Fifth century BC
157:random assignment
131:has many uses in
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48:Please help
43:verification
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613:or even in
443:experiments
412:Monte Carlo
392:statistical
349:engineering
173:video poker
1094:: 125430.
988:0275967026
940:0787981168
859:0631138226
820:References
782:randomness
746:Other uses
668:'s work).
568:encryption
495:stochastic
487:simulation
470:Automatic
458:Simulation
388:randomness
206:Early uses
141:statistics
129:Randomness
76:newspapers
21:Randomness
1151:664352650
1116:229495274
1052:1103.1224
1028:157605321
913:213307148
833:Herodotus
793:searching
790:amortized
766:(33:54),
762:. In the
718:John Cage
716:includes
675:'s novel
532:, etc.).
357:bootstrap
313:sortition
296:elections
284:democracy
225:apophenia
1184:Category
997:41184996
949:70659897
868:22809482
848:(1991).
803:See also
648:anti-art
617:such as
437:Analysis
423:invoices
419:auditing
404:protocol
343:such as
288:allotted
280:isonomia
237:roulette
221:gambling
153:gambling
106:May 2020
1096:Bibcode
1077:2928707
1057:Bibcode
814:Flipism
654:Dadaism
588:Fortuna
545:entropy
452:pulsars
341:physics
335:Science
133:science
90:scholar
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584:Yarrow
572:Venona
447:X-rays
425:) and
410:) and
400:sample
351:, and
317:jurors
248:casino
235:, and
217:random
190:, and
149:gaming
92:
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1112:S2CID
1073:S2CID
1047:arXiv
1024:S2CID
768:Moses
738:, or
714:music
621:, or
441:Many
211:Games
97:JSTOR
83:books
1147:OCLC
1137:ISBN
993:OCLC
983:ISBN
945:OCLC
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