Randomness is a concept with somewhat disparate meanings in several fields. It also has common meanings which may have loose connections with some of those more definite meanings. The Oxford English Dictionary The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is a comprehensive dictionary of the English language. Two fully-bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. As of December 2008[update], the editors had completed one quarter of a third edition defines "random" thus:
Having no definite aim or purpose; not sent or guided in a particular direction; made, done, occurring, etc., without method or conscious choice; haphazard.
Also, in statistics, as:
Governed by or involving equal chances for each of the actual or hypothetical members of a population; (also) produced or obtained by such a process, and therefore unpredictable in detail.
Closely connected, therefore, with the concepts of chance, probability Probability is a way of expressing knowledge or belief that an event will occur or has occurred. In mathematics the concept has been given an exact meaning in probability theory, that is used extensively in such areas of study as mathematics, statistics, finance, gambling, science, and philosophy to draw conclusions about the likelihood of, and information entropy In information theory, entropy is a measure of the uncertainty associated with a random variable. The term by itself in this context usually refers to the Shannon entropy, which quantifies, in the sense of an expected value, the information contained in a message, usually in units such as bits. Equivalently, the Shannon entropy is a measure of the, randomness implies a lack of predictability Predictability is the degree to which a correct prediction or forecast of a system's state can be made either qualitatively or quantitatively. Although the second law of thermodynamics can tell us about the equilibrium state that a system will evolve to, and steady states in dissipative systems can sometimes be predicted, there exists no general. More formally, in statistics, a random process In probability theory, a stochastic process, or sometimes random process, is the counterpart to a deterministic process . Instead of dealing with only one possible "reality" of how the process might evolve under time (as is the case, for example, for solutions of an ordinary differential equation), in a stochastic or random process there is a repeating process whose outcomes follow no describable deterministic pattern, but follow a probability distribution In probability theory and statistics, a probability distribution identifies either the probability of each value of an unidentified random variable , or the probability of the value falling within a particular interval (when the variable is continuous). The probability distribution describes the range of possible values that a random variable can, such that the relative probability of the occurrence of each outcome can be approximated or calculated. For example, the rolling of a fair six-sided die in neutral conditions may be said to produce random results, because one cannot compute, before a roll, what number will show up. However, the probability of rolling any one of the six rollable numbers can be calculated, assuming that each is equally likely.
The term is often used in statistics Statistics is the science of making effective use of numerical data relating to groups of individuals or experiments. It deals with all aspects of this, including not only the collection, analysis and interpretation of such data, but also the planning of the collection of data, in terms of the design of surveys and experiments to signify well-defined statistical properties, such as a lack of bias Bias is a term used to describe a tendency or preference towards a particular perspective, ideology or result, when the tendency interferes with the ability to be impartial, unprejudiced, or objective.. In other words, bias is generally seen as a 'one-sided' perspective. The term biased refers to a person or group who is judged to exhibit bias. It or correlation In statistics, correlation and dependence are any of a broad class of statistical relationships between two or more random variables or observed data values. Monte Carlo Methods Monte Carlo methods are a class of computational algorithms that rely on repeated random sampling to compute their results. Monte Carlo methods are often used in simulating physical and mathematical systems. Because of their reliance on repeated computation of random or pseudo-random numbers, these methods are most suited to calculation by a, which rely on random input, are important techniques in science, as, for instance, in computational science Computational science is the field of study concerned with constructing mathematical models and numerical solution techniques and using computers to analyse and solve scientific, social scientific and engineering problems. In practical use, it is typically the application of computer simulation and other forms of computation to problems in various.[1] Random selection is an official method to resolve tied To tie or draw is to finish a competition with identical or inconclusive results. The word "tie" is usually used in North America for sports such as American football. "Draw" is usually used in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations and it is usually used for sports such as Football (soccer) and Australian rules elections in some jurisdictions[2] and is even an ancient method of divination Divination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of a standardized process or ritual. Diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a querent should proceed by reading signs, events, or omens, or through alleged contact with a supernatural agency. Divination can be seen as a systematic method with which to organize, as in tarot The tarot , pronounced /ˈtɑːroʊ/, is a pack of cards (most commonly numbering seventy-eight), used from the mid fifteenth century in various parts of Europe to play card games such as Italian Tarocchini and French Tarot. From the late 18th century until the present time the Tarot has also found use by mystics and occultists in efforts at, the I Ching The I Ching , "Yì Jīng" (Pinyin), Classic of Changes or Book of Changes; also called Zhouyi, is one of the oldest of the Chinese classic texts. The book contains a divination system comparable to Western geomancy or the West African Ifá system. In Western cultures and modern East Asia, it is still widely used for this purpose, and bibliomancy Bibliomancy is the use of books in divination. The method of employing sacred books for 'magical medicine', for removing negative entities, or for divination is widespread in many religions of the world:. Its use in politics is very old, as office holders in Ancient Athens were chosen by lot, there being no voting.
Contents |
Hunts Post, UK
For this random , off the cuff- performer talks about all manner of 'things' during his show and despite the randomness of his non-present-script, it is in fact hysterical. It is hard work watching the great Noble in action - because as his mind races ...
Kelly
hu, 28 Jan 2010 04:12:00 GM
I know from my recent lurking that there are days that people post their . random. thoughts posts...unfortunately, I don't know what day people are doing this, but it's the right day for me... Just realized that today is only ...
