Aurino,

Perhaps I'm missing your whole argument, but my understanding of a random process is one that no algorithm exists that can predict the outcome of a process except by executing the process itself. For those kind of processes mathematicians have probability theory to best describe the most likely outcome of certain processes. A fully 'random' process is one whose outcome (not function) is completely indeterministic.

Randomness is certainly tied to our knowledge, but many in philosophy and science believe that nature has inherent randomness (i.e., indeterministic) at the quantum level (e.g., Born's postulate). In these instances, it is conjectured that there is some indeterministic value and that there is no algorithm to determine the value.

Your use of a mathematical function to determine a random number is doomed only because if there is such a function capable of computing a random number then by definition the number is not random since there is a function that can compute it! But, I imagine that I have misunderstood your argument somewhere along the way.

Warm regards, Harv

• Here's why - aurino - August 16, 2001 - 16:09 UTC
  • Aside: the problem with parapsychology - aurino - August 16, 2001 - 16:25 UTC
    • Probability creates order out of randomness - yanniru - August 16, 2001 - 16:52 UTC
      • It sure does - aurino - August 16, 2001 - 17:10 UTC
  • re: randomness - harvey1 - August 16, 2001 - 17:24 UTC