Randomness
From Maze
(Difference between revisions)
(→) | (Added some cleverness) | ||
| Line 7: | Line 7: | ||
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 early forms 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 hurtling on horseback 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 early forms 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 hurtling on horseback through a village, intent on death and destruction. | ||
| − | 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 command in 10 PRINT selects one of two graphical characters -- a kind of textual composition that recalls the latter meaning of random. Flip or flop, a slash forward or backward. 10 PRINT splays each random figure across the screen with the PRINT command, another echo of the printing press, and a legacy of the early days of BASIC, when PRINT literally 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. | + | 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 help assemble texts. The RND command in 10 PRINT selects one of two graphical characters -- a kind of textual composition that recalls the latter meaning of random: Flip or flop, a symbol like a slash forward or backward (but fortunately less fearsome than the horseman's random slash). 10 PRINT splays each random figure across the screen with the PRINT command, another echo of the printing press, and a legacy of the early days of BASIC, when PRINT literally 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. |
===Gaming Randomness=== | ===Gaming Randomness=== | ||
