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Dice Apps & arc4random_uniform(6)

Posted By: April Kennedy
Date: Tuesday, 28 February 2017, at 2:43 a.m.

In Response To: Dice Apps & arc4random_uniform(6) (Phil Simborg)

Most dice generators are pseudo-random NOT true random. Pseudo random means that the generator mimics what a true random result would look like. But it is not truly random.

Here are the basic steps to get your result.

Input/seed -----> Some math/algorithm ------> Result (dice roll)

The input seed is the key to getting a random result. If the input is not random the result will not be truly random. It doesn't matter how complex the middle step is. It doesn't matter, how many steps there are or calculations are in the middle. It could sound super complicated and impressive. However, the simple truth is that if you don't have a random input, you will not have a true random output.

I am not sure that there is a phone app that provides a true random result. Do you know of one? I know that many people will say that they don't care about this or that pseudo-random is good enough. But with the amount of dollars that we put into this game, I think that it is an important distinction and discussion to have. If we could have a dice app that gave a true random result, then the argument could possibly be made that electronic dice are superior to physical dice. Not sure, but at least there could be an argument.

Interesting video from Numberphile on random numbers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxP30euw3-0

Also Random.org https://www.random.org/

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