Randomness

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According to English Wikipedia:[1]

In common usage, randomness is the apparent or actual lack of pattern or predictability in events.[2][3] A random sequence of events, symbols or steps often has no order and does not follow an intelligible pattern or combination. Individual random events are, by definition, unpredictable, but if the probability distribution is known, the frequency of different outcomes over repeated events (or "trials") is predictable. Strictly speaking, the frequency of an outcome will converge almost surely to a predictable value as the number of trials becomes arbitrarily large. Non-convergence or convergence to a different value is possible, but has probability zero.</ref> For example, when throwing two dice, the outcome of any particular roll is unpredictable, but a sum of 7 will tend to occur twice as often as 4. In this view, randomness is not haphazardness; it is a measure of uncertainty of an outcome. Randomness applies to concepts of chance, probability, and information entropy.

References

  1. Copied and adapted from w:Randomness on English Wikipedia (<https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Randomness&oldid=1136612838>)
  2. The Oxford English Dictionary defines "random" as "Having no definite aim or purpose; not sent or guided in a particular direction; made, done, occurring, etc., without method or conscious choice; haphazard."
  3. "Definition of randomness | Dictionary.com". www.dictionary.com. Retrieved 2019-11-21.