Predicting the next Math.random() in Java

Re:Predicting the next Math.random() in Java by UnoriginalGuy on Monday September 01, 2014 @02:00PM (#8254009)

By that logic nothing should ever be called random (in any context). There are things we can measure but don't understand the source of the entropy, but they aren't random we just haven't figured out the source yet. Most things we consider random are quantifiable and predictable with enough data (be it nature or computers).

Plus there are several definitions of the term "random" (English) which are in-line with the programming usage such as "random: a haphazard course."

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Re:Predicting the next Math.random() in Java by MichaelGG on Monday September 01, 2014 @03:51PM (#8254430)

I thought quantum processes were truly random.

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Re:Predicting the next Math.random() in Java by TheLoneWolfling on Tuesday September 02, 2014 @11:54AM (#8258271)

As far as we know. That isn't the same thing as "it is".

If you assume that quantum processes are truly random, there are a bunch of ways for a computer to generate truly random noise - the easiest class being shot noise (connect a computer to a good camera in an almost pitch-black enclosure, or send a small current through a diode), but there are others.

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