Randomness
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An essential element of 10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1));: GOTO 10 is randomness; the program could not produce its mesmerizing visual effect without it. Randomness is built into the Commodore 64's BASIC programming language via the RND function. The RND function is not unique to the Commodore 64; it was present in the original Dartmouth BASIC, and similar random commands in computing can be traced back to the 1950s. In the case of the Commodore 64, it's not only BASIC that can supply random numbers. In the computer's ROM is its operating system, the intentionally misspelled KERNAL, which can be poked and prodded into generating random numbers. The C64's sound chip, the SID, can also be harnessed to generate random numbers. It's randomness all the way down. | An essential element of 10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1));: GOTO 10 is randomness; the program could not produce its mesmerizing visual effect without it. Randomness is built into the Commodore 64's BASIC programming language via the RND function. The RND function is not unique to the Commodore 64; it was present in the original Dartmouth BASIC, and similar random commands in computing can be traced back to the 1950s. In the case of the Commodore 64, it's not only BASIC that can supply random numbers. In the computer's ROM is its operating system, the intentionally misspelled KERNAL, which can be poked and prodded into generating random numbers. The C64's sound chip, the SID, can also be harnessed to generate random numbers. It's randomness all the way down. | ||
| − | This chapter explores the nature of randomness, both in and outside of computing. The role of randomness in literature and the arts is considered, as well as the origins of random number generation in modern mathematics, engineering, and computer science. 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. | + | This chapter explores the nature of randomness, both in and outside of computing. The role of randomness in games, literature, and the arts is considered, as well as the origins of random number generation in modern mathematics, engineering, and computer science. 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 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 to encounter "a random" sitting in the computer lab exploring a system at random, a "random encounter" centuries ago was more likely to resemble a random encounter in ''Dungeons & Dragons,'' a figure on horseback hurtling through a village, intent on death and destruction. | 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 to encounter "a random" sitting in the computer lab exploring a system at random, a "random encounter" centuries ago was more likely to resemble a random encounter in ''Dungeons & Dragons,'' a figure on horseback hurtling through a village, intent on death and destruction. | ||
