Randomness

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This chapter explains what random numbers are, explaining certain different types of randomness. Then, it looks at the historical inception of functions for generating random numbers and some of the ways these random numbers have been used. The chapter considers how and why randomness is used in the arts. Through a nuanced discussion of randomness, the chapter argues that the maze pattern which 10 PRINT produces is entwined with a history of aesthetic and utilitarian coin flips and random processes.

−

Since chance is hap, the root of happy, it would seem that randomness, a type of chance, might have a happy etymology. Not so. Likely ancestors of the word "random" are found in Anglo-Norman, Old French, and Middle French and include ''randoun, raundun, raundoun, randon, randun,'' and ''rendon'' -- words indicating speed, impulsiveness, and violence. These predecessor words are found beginning around the 12th century and probably derive from ''randir,'' to run fast or gallop. Bumper stickers implore drivers to "practice random acts of kindness," but only because people in our culture fear random acts of violence so much that another phrase has become so ingrained that it can be punned upon -- and at a deeper level, perhaps, because the speed and violence of other vehicles are to be feared. While today it might be harmless for us to encounter "a random" (a person unknown to us, according to the Jargon File) sitting in the computer lab exploring a system at random, a "random encounter" centuries ago was much more likely to resemble a violent random encounter in ''Dungeons & Dragons.'' For instance, it could have been a figure on horseback hurtling through a village, trampling and slaughtering whoever he can reach.

+

Since chance is happenstance, hap, the root of happy, it would seem likely that randomness, a type of chance, might have a happy etymology. But this is not so. In centuries past, before the philosophers and mathematicians in the Age of Enlightenment sought to rationalize even chance, randomness was a nightmare. Likely ancestors of the word "random" are found in Anglo-Norman, Old French, and Middle French and include ''randoun, raundun, raundoun, randon, randun,'' and ''rendon'' -- words signifying speed, impulsiveness, and violence. These predecessor words are found beginning around the 12th century and probably derive from ''randir,'' to run fast or gallop. Bumper stickers implore drivers to "practice random acts of kindness," but only because people in our culture fear random acts of violence so much that another phrase has become so ingrained that it can be punned upon -- and at a deeper level, perhaps, because the speed and violence of other vehicles are to be feared. While today it might be harmless for us to encounter "a random" (a person unknown to us, according to the Jargon File) sitting in the computer lab exploring a system at random, a "random encounter" centuries ago was much more likely to resemble a violent random encounter in ''Dungeons & Dragons.'' For instance, it could have been a figure on horseback hurtling through a village, trampling and slaughtering whoever he can reach.

−

In centuries past, before the age of enlightenment, randomness was a nightmare. Throughout its history, the word "random" has had some interesting meanings that became obsolete before the scientific and mathematical meaning became primary. One of these is the degree of elevation of a gun that can be used to maximize the range. Another is a board used by compositors to store type as pages are made up during the printing process. These particular randoms, used properly, both kill opponents and facilitate the process of textual composition. The RND found in 10 PRINT operates more in the compositional mode, selecting one of two character graphics for display on the screen via the PRINT command, which was originally made for putting ink on paper. But the very existence of RND in the Commodore 64 does have certain connections to speed, violence, the military, and devastation.

+

Only recently have the meanings of the word "random" coalesced around science and statistics. Its history is littered with obsolete meanings. The degree of elevation of a gun that maximizes its range. The direction of a metallic vein in a mine. The sloping board on the top of a compositor's frame where newly arranged pages are stored before printing. These particular randoms kill opponents, create wealth, or incubate books. The RND found in 10 PRINT recalls the latter meaning of random, a structure integral to textual composition. RND selects one of two graphical characters. Flip or flop, a slash forward or a slash backward. Each random slash splayed across the screen with the PRINT command, an echo of the early days of BASIC, when PRINT meant putting ink on paper. The connections of RND on the Commodore 64 to the origins of the word -- to speed, violence, devastation, and yes, printing -- are inescapable.

−

Random elements have played a role through millennia of culture in games of chance and divination. The roll of a die and toss of coin have long foretold the fortunes of men. The birth and proliferation of science was imagined, initially, to engender a more rational world view. Through Aristotle to Galileo to Newton, classical mechanics defined the universe as a defined system without random actions. Communications theory redefined noise as a random signal of measurable bounds which can be characterized and filtered out. While Einstein declared that "God does not play dice," probability and statistics has been extremely important to our scientific understanding of the world from the 20th century on. And, in 1897, poet Stephane Mallarme declared, in French, that "a throw of the dice does not abolish chance" -- presaging the importance than randomness and chance operations would have in the next century and beyond.

+

Life itself is full of randomness and the inexplicable, and it is no small wonder that children and adults alike incorporate chance into their daily lives, as if to tame it. Games of chance are one of the four fundamental categories of games that all humans play, argued the French cultural historian Roger Caillois. Whereas ''agon'' are games dependent upon skill, ''mimicry'' are games of imagination, ''ilinx'' are games causing disorder and loss of control, ''alea'' are games of chance. Taken from the Latin name for dice games, ''alea'' "negates work, patience, experience, and qualifications" (17). When a player loses a game of chance, it is as if the gods themselves have cursed him or her. But when a player wins a game of chance, he or she has been blessed by the fates. Indeed, the roll of a die or toss of a coin have long foretold the fortunes of men, though gambling dens and casino halls have determined more futures than soothsayers and prophets. The rise of the scientific method can be seen as one enduring struggle to impose a more rational -- and predictable -- view upon the world. From Aristotle to Galileo to Newton, classical mechanics defined the universe as an organized system without random actions. Recent developments in chaos theory and quantum mechanics have tempered this view. Einstein may have declared that "God does not play dice with the universe," but probability and statistics have been extremely important to our understanding of the world from the 20th century on.

+

But still, in 1897, poet Stephane Mallarme declared, in French, that "a throw of the dice does not abolish chance" -- presaging the importance than randomness and chance operations would have in the next century and beyond.

=== Randomness and Aesthetics Before Computing ===

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 This chapter explains what random numbers are, explaining certain different types of randomness.  Then, it looks at the historical inception of functions for generating random numbers and some of the ways these random numbers have been used. The chapter considers how and why randomness is used in the arts. Through a nuanced discussion of randomness, the chapter argues that the maze pattern which 10 PRINT produces is entwined with a history of aesthetic and utilitarian coin flips and random processes.
-Since chance is hap, the root of happy, it would seem that randomness, a type of chance, might have a happy etymology. Not so. Likely ancestors of the word "random" are found in Anglo-Norman, Old French, and Middle French and include ''randoun, raundun, raundoun, randon, randun,'' and ''rendon'' -- words indicating speed, impulsiveness, and violence. These predecessor words are found beginning around the 12th century and probably derive from ''randir,'' to run fast or gallop. Bumper stickers implore drivers to "practice random acts of kindness," but only because people in our culture fear random acts of violence so much that another phrase has become so ingrained that it can be punned upon -- and at a deeper level, perhaps, because the speed and violence of other vehicles are to be feared. While today it might be harmless for us to encounter "a random" (a person unknown to us, according to the Jargon File) sitting in the computer lab exploring a system at random, a "random encounter" centuries ago was much more likely to resemble a violent random encounter in ''Dungeons & Dragons.'' For instance, it could have been a figure on horseback hurtling through a village, trampling and slaughtering whoever he can reach.
+Since chance is happenstance, hap, the root of happy, it would seem likely that randomness, a type of chance, might have a happy etymology. But this is not so. In centuries past, before the philosophers and mathematicians in the Age of Enlightenment sought to rationalize even chance, randomness was a nightmare. Likely ancestors of the word "random" are found in Anglo-Norman, Old French, and Middle French and include ''randoun, raundun, raundoun, randon, randun,'' and ''rendon'' -- words signifying speed, impulsiveness, and violence. These predecessor words are found beginning around the 12th century and probably derive from ''randir,'' to run fast or gallop. Bumper stickers implore drivers to "practice random acts of kindness," but only because people in our culture fear random acts of violence so much that another phrase has become so ingrained that it can be punned upon -- and at a deeper level, perhaps, because the speed and violence of other vehicles are to be feared. While today it might be harmless for us to encounter "a random" (a person unknown to us, according to the Jargon File) sitting in the computer lab exploring a system at random, a "random encounter" centuries ago was much more likely to resemble a violent random encounter in ''Dungeons & Dragons.'' For instance, it could have been a figure on horseback hurtling through a village, trampling and slaughtering whoever he can reach.
-In centuries past, before the age of enlightenment, randomness was a nightmare. Throughout its history, the word "random" has had some interesting meanings that became obsolete before the scientific and mathematical meaning became primary. One of these is the degree of elevation of a gun that can be used to maximize the range. Another is a board used by compositors to store type as pages are made up during the printing process. These particular randoms, used properly, both kill opponents and facilitate the process of textual composition. The RND found in 10 PRINT operates more in the compositional mode, selecting one of two character graphics for display on the screen via the PRINT command, which was originally made for putting ink on paper. But the very existence of RND in the Commodore 64 does have certain connections to speed, violence, the military, and devastation.
+Only recently have the meanings of the word "random" coalesced around science and statistics. Its history is littered with obsolete meanings. The degree of elevation of a gun that maximizes its range. The direction of a metallic vein in a mine. The sloping board on the top of a compositor's frame where newly arranged pages are stored before printing. These particular randoms kill opponents, create wealth, or incubate books. The RND found in 10 PRINT recalls the latter meaning of random, a structure integral to textual composition. RND selects one of two graphical characters. Flip or flop, a slash forward or a slash backward. Each random slash splayed across the screen with the PRINT command, an echo of the early days of BASIC, when PRINT meant putting ink on paper. The connections of RND on the Commodore 64 to the origins of the word -- to speed, violence, devastation, and yes, printing -- are inescapable.
-Random elements have played a role through millennia of culture in games of chance and divination. The roll of a die and toss of coin have long foretold the fortunes of men. The birth and proliferation of science was imagined, initially, to engender a more rational world view. Through Aristotle to Galileo to Newton, classical mechanics defined the universe as a defined system without random actions.  Communications theory redefined noise as a random signal of measurable bounds which can be characterized and filtered out.  While Einstein declared that "God does not play dice," probability and statistics has been extremely important to our scientific understanding of the world from the 20th century on. And, in 1897, poet Stephane Mallarme declared, in French, that "a throw of the dice does not abolish chance" -- presaging the importance than randomness and chance operations would have in the next century and beyond.
+Life itself is full of randomness and the inexplicable, and it is no small wonder that children and adults alike incorporate chance into their daily lives, as if to tame it. Games of chance are one of the four fundamental categories of games that all humans play, argued the French cultural historian Roger Caillois. Whereas ''agon'' are games dependent upon skill, ''mimicry'' are games of imagination, ''ilinx'' are games causing disorder and loss of control, ''alea'' are games of chance. Taken from the Latin name for dice games, ''alea'' "negates work, patience, experience, and qualifications" (17). When a player loses a game of chance, it is as if the gods themselves have cursed him or her. But when a player wins a game of chance, he or she has been blessed by the fates. Indeed, the roll of a die or toss of a coin have long foretold the fortunes of men, though gambling dens and casino halls have determined more futures than soothsayers and prophets. The rise of the scientific method can be seen as one enduring struggle to impose a more rational -- and predictable -- view upon the world. From Aristotle to Galileo to Newton, classical mechanics defined the universe as an organized system without random actions. Recent developments in chaos theory and quantum mechanics have tempered this view. Einstein may have declared that "God does not play dice with the universe," but probability and statistics have been extremely important to our understanding of the world from the 20th century on.
+But still, in 1897, poet Stephane Mallarme declared, in French, that "a throw of the dice does not abolish chance" -- presaging the importance than randomness and chance operations would have in the next century and beyond.
 === Randomness and Aesthetics Before Computing ===