4 ms·

>What you propose is similar to... No, it's not. See the linked paper. In IEEE754, the interval [1,2) is special.

• fdej 12y ago
  If you generate a random double-precision floating-point number in [1,2) and subtract 1, you will never generate 2^-100. A correct algorithm will be able to generate 2^-100 (with very small probability!)
  • chockablock 12y ago
    I'm not making claims about the correctness of the approach (I'm not enough of an FP math whiz); I was just pointing out that your original critique appeared to be based on a misunderstanding.
    • deleted 12y ago
      [deleted]
  • chocka_oops 12y ago
    Sorry--chockablock here. I misunderstood your argument and see that you were correct and also that your follow-up was on-subject (see: not a whiz). I'd delete but have noprocrast set.