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Using your definition in the pure sense, nothing is random. If it is finite, it can known beforehand. Whether it is a listing of potential lottery numbers or a pin number, the precision of the number has parameters therefore all possible values could be listed. Mark Walter Sr. Programmer/Analyst Hanover Wire Cloth a div of CCX, Inc. mwalter@hanoverwire.com http://www.hanoverwire.com 717.637.3795 Ext.3040 "Leif Svalgaard" <leif@leif.org> To: <MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com> Sent by: cc: owner-midrange-l@mi Subject: Re: Random Number Generator drange.com 08/08/01 02:00 PM Please respond to MIDRANGE-L From: alan shore <SHOREA@dime.com> > Objection you honor..... > Random numbers are unknowable beforehand. - Agreed > Random numbers have no other description than themselves. - Agreed > Random numbers are long.----------------------------Disagree, unless the number > ooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnneeeeeeeeeeeee (1) is considered a long number. seriously thoufg, a number as short as 1 digit can be randomly generated. A random number generator is any machine that fits the first two criteria, such as the machines that pick the lotto numbers (or even bingo) > the lotto numbers (and your 1-digit number) are not random in the sense of being unknowable beforehand. It can generate a list of all these numbers any time I want to. That I don't know which one will win is not important as far as the randomness is concerned, but is, of course, of some interest as far as the lottery is concerned. Imagine that I need a random number to generate a secure session key. I can generate millions of them in seconds and try them all until I find the one that gives me access. Flipping a (fair) coin may seem to be a random process, but the binary sequence HTH (head, tail, head) hardly qualifies as a random number. Now flip the coin 100 times and you have a good (and long) random number. Nobody else can produce the same number. +--- | This is the Midrange System Mailing List! | To submit a new message, send your mail to MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com. | To subscribe to this list send email to MIDRANGE-L-SUB@midrange.com. | To unsubscribe from this list send email to MIDRANGE-L-UNSUB@midrange.com. | Questions should be directed to the list owner/operator: david@midrange.com +--- +--- | This is the Midrange System Mailing List! | To submit a new message, send your mail to MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com. | To subscribe to this list send email to MIDRANGE-L-SUB@midrange.com. | To unsubscribe from this list send email to MIDRANGE-L-UNSUB@midrange.com. | Questions should be directed to the list owner/operator: david@midrange.com +---
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