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Article #8358Re: random vs. ran(seed) (RE: choice, will, etc. etc.)
From: Herman Rubin
Date: Sat, 27 May 1989 11:13
Date: Sat, 27 May 1989 11:13
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1526 bytes
In article <1862@hub.ucsb.edu>, silber@sbphy.ucsb.edu writes: > Let 'random sequence' (:== a sequence whose observable characteristics > correspond to the observable characteristics of a sequence of physical > events which we identify as 'random'. If we KNOW that the sequence > was generated by an 'algorithm', then it is PSEUDO-random. However, > the sequence corresponding to the motivating physical phenomenon (whose > pattern cannot be generated by any algorithm known to us) is > of a different epistemological order, viz. 'RANDOM'. If there is a computable algorithm producing the sequence, it is NOT random. This algorithm could even have inputs of preceding physical variables. The test that the sequence is produced by the algorithm is the proof that the sequence is NOT random. A random sequence has the property that there is no non-prescient test which the sequence will fail with positive probqbility. -- Herman Rubin, Dept. of Statistics, Purdue Univ., West Lafayette IN47907 Phone: (317)494-6054 hrubin@l.cc.purdue.edu (Internet, bitnet, UUCP)
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arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!iuvax!pur-ee!mentor.cc.purdue.edu!l.cc.purdue.edu!cikReferences:
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Path: arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!iuvax!pur-ee!mentor.cc.purdue.edu!l.cc.purdue.edu!cik From: cik@l.cc.purdue.edu (Herman Rubin) Newsgroups: comp.ai Subject: Re: random vs. ran(seed) (RE: choice, will, etc. etc.) Summary: No algorithm is random Message-ID: <1319@l.cc.purdue.edu> Date: 27 May 89 11:13:02 GMT References: <1862@hub.ucsb.edu> Organization: Purdue University Statistics Department Lines: 19