Is anything ever truely random?
406372
The following things are not random, but appear to be:\n\nFlipping coins, throwing dice, the weather, etc.\n\nAll of the above are ruled by the laws of physics. But in those cases, the results might as well be random because the equations governing them are so complex that in practice we can't find exact solutions for them.\n\nHowever, one might ask whether there exist any physical system that it truly random - or do the equations of physics predict exact results for everything? (The only reason we don't know the future, in that case, would be because the equations are too difficult to solve.)\n\nThe answer is actually quite surprizing. Subatomic particles - that is, things smaller than atoms - are truly random. It is impossible, even in principle, to ever calculate what they will do next. All we can do is calculate a probability. That's from an area of physics called Quantum Mechanics. So, in this area of physics, instead of asking a question like, "Where will the particle land?", we ask, "What's the chance of the particle landing over here? Or over there? Or anywhere?" Quantum mechanics produces some truly "spooky" effects - such as the fact that an electron, trapped at the bottom of a bowl, can get out of the bowl without having to get up over the sides! That's a phenomenon known as tunneling, and is due to the fact that there's a small chance of the electron being outside the bowl, even if the electron doesn't have enough energy to get over the walls. That means that it must, at some point, be seen outside the bowl. But it's energy means that it can't go over the walls! So, it basically "teleports" from inside the box to outside the box. There are other quantum mechanical effects due to probability as well - but I'm sure you can find those with a quick internet search...
84626
There is a random knowledge generator here...\n\nhttp://www.madsci.org/random.html
874809
And in the midst of this stream of random words, is there actually a question?
677914
Aren't we all random collections of data?
828757
Well, if it's cheap like mine, I'd say the probability is great.  Cheap sets are made by the hundreds of thousands...\nSo big whoop.  Does that mean it's fate?
679281
There are two (at least) separate concepts of randomness going on here. Chaos theory typically deal with a deterministic system where small changes in the initial conditions can lead to big changes in the outcome (the butterfly to tornado effect). The equations of fluid dynamics have this property, so chaos in the technical sense applies.\n\nThe 'random' numbers generated by computers are usually not random, they are what is called 'pseudo-random', which means that they are generated by a formula, but the formula gives outputs that 'appear random'. The fact that the output is not, in fact, random can have very real effects on some simulations.\n\nNow, quantum events are really, truly random. So it is possible to construct a random number generator that feeds off of a quantum effect. This is not usually done, but is possible and has its place.\n\nOne of the areas of research is the way that quantum randomness grades into classical determinism and hence into chaos. The quantum level is random in the true sense. The chaos of the deterministic system is very different, however.
502261
That is the most random question I've ever heard.
9363
No.  You can't definitively "prove" a sequence of numbers is not randomly generated by just looking at the numbers, but you can still draw conclusions with a high degree of confidence.\n\nFor example, it is extremely unlikely that a random number generator will produce the same number twenty times in a row, but technically, it is possible.  So seeing this happen doesn't prove it's not random, but you can still conclude that it's not.
42546
It's supposed to be random and taken from voter rolls. Sounds like you're unlucky.
748202
it is possible but unlikely
984744
yes it is. Everyone can be weird at times.
249282
Despite the air bubbles, mine seems to be pretty random.\n\nBut I'm curious, did you think that some answers are more common than others? I'll give mine a shake ask what it thinks is the most common answer...\n\nConcentrate and ask again.\n\nDamn!\n\nVery Doubtful.\n\nHmmmm...
996348
Not sure but if i did know then it would not be random!
408812
Thats wierd. My friend let me hear some Hellfeild the other day to see what i thought and i really liked it. How random is that?\nAll the best\nMitch
775498
Did something like this actually happen?
691596
themselves and chance
1178569
455859836977386\n\nThere is a random number how is that?\n\nDoes it make any sense?\n\nYou question doesn't!