Random block without using random blocks!

[18001767679]

Or the total energy exerted to your microphone via air molecules(minus average atmosphere pressure)
Or the total magnetic force exerted to an USB data cable(is this the correct naming)
Or the random bit-flipping caused by cosmic rays hitting your RAM

[sqoosh]

Ehhh, we can still reasonably predict things that happen in the quantum realm, more or less, it's not completely out of reach. Even if it isn't entirely exact.

[sqoosh]

I suppose, but its never wildly out of tune with 0.7 volts.

I guess we can never know though, since we can't run quantum experiments with identical starting conditions without a time machine and impossibly precise tools to see if anything actually changes each time we go back.

[ego-lay_atman-bay]

@bh

it's no more capable of true randomness.

I think the human brain might be worse at random than computers. I mean, try to come up with 10 random numbers, and compare them to 10 random numbers made by a computer.

[sqoosh]

Our brain has a lot of biased connections (by design) so obviously, some of us like certain numbers more than others, personally I like odd numbers and multiples of 5.

[bh]

@sqoosh

I suppose, but its never wildly out of tune with 0.7 volts.

RIght, but if you take the voltage and subtract 0.7, you get a small but entirely random value, and you can multiply it by 1000 or something to get a value in a reasonable range. Those fluctuations are really truly random, and things like that are the only really random values.

[spaceelephant]

I believe physical TPMs can do this, so snap's builtin random number might be truly random, depending on your PC and OS.

[sqoosh]

Based on what Brian said, I could imagine any analog computer would be capable of it.

[bh]

@spaceelephant

TPMs can do this

Could be; I don't know enough about them to know for sure, but you're probably right. If so, it's because they have special circuitry to measure quantum randomness.

@sqoosh

any analog computer would be capable of it

Well, yes and no. Yes, because the voltage levels in an analog circuit are affected by quantum randomness, but in practice the precision with which actually built analog computers could measure those voltages was pretty weak -- much less precise than the ordinary arithmetic of modern digital computers.

[scratchmodification]

I actually discovered something right now:
I'm surprised that this algorithm, for me, generates similar numbers that random.org does:

---

Also @spaceelephant, can you determine if this algorithm can generate good random data?

[spaceelephant]

It isn't really an algorithom, but a program to fetch data from random.org. If random.org is good, which it is, your program will create good random data.

[scratchmodification]

Hmm... I was expecting an answer like this:

@spaceelephant

The test you gave does not do anything. The equal to block cannot differentiate between its inputs, so you will always get 10% true as long as at least one of the inputs is completely random. In fact, special random number is far less random.
In your block,
1 and 10 appear each with a 595/14674 probability,
2 and 9 with 1143/14674,
3 and 8 with 1596/14674,
4 and 7 with 1918/14674,
5 and 6 with 2085/14674.
This means that getting a 5 or a 6 is three times more likely than a 1 or 10, not the uniform distribution of the random number block, or true randomness.
If, for some reason, that block is not random enough, you can either seed an RNG from user input like mouse movement or video, or you can use random.org , which gets their numbers from lava lamps.

Edit: I was referring to my algorithm as well

[mr_owlssssnap2]

i still dont know how you get numbers from lava lamps

[scratchmodification]

I use a website called random.org, which gets their numbers from lava lamps.

[mr_owlssssnap2]

@mr_owlssssnap2

i still dont know how you get numbers from lava lamps

yes but how do you get random numbers from lava lamps??

[scratchmodification]

Lavarand

[mr_owlssssnap2]

thanks!

[mr_owlssssnap2]

interesting
edit: i just posted this how is it a minute old???

[spaceelephant]

Oh, I see, What does new random do though? I don't have the definition.

[scratchmodification]

Here:

@scratchmodification

It generates a list with raw random numbers that can be processed to make anything random.