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Software random number generators are technically pseudorandom number generators because the output of a deterministic program cannot really be random.
by TekMol 9y ago
Software random number generators are technically
pseudorandom number generators because the output
of a deterministic program cannot really be random.
On the other hand, everything we build is made of quantum particles which exhibit truly random behavior. Including the computers that run those programs. So programs cannot really be deterministic.
- pvg 9y agoThat's an argument that's persuasive in very specialized regions of spacetime with particular chemistries. Like dorm rooms equipped with bongs.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- pavel_lishin 9y agoAlso, high in the Earth's atmosphere, where the air doesn't do such a good job of protecting RAM from cosmic ray impacts.
- pvg 9y agoRight, but that's only slightly less silly than claiming programs are non-deterministic because of the quantum handwave equation. Similarly, programs behave non-deterministically because you might drop your phone or spill bongwater on your laptop.
- adrianN 9y agoPrograms are abstract objects like numbers. The computers executing them are indeed not deterministic (e.g. random bit flips occur occasionally), but pretty smart people do their best to make them appear so, so it's unlikely that you see behavior that is not explainable by a deterministic model.