[PD] Random without repeating numbers

[Frank Barknecht]

Hi,
David N G McCallum hat gesagt: // David N G McCallum wrote:

> 	Maybe I'm missing something here, or it's already been said, but
> couldn't you just set up a really simple patch to compare the output of
> [random] with its previous output. If new==old then bang the random
> again, if new!=old then pass it through.

That's what I thought at first glance, too, but as randomness goes, it
is possible, that you get a lot of equal numbers after another and
that would stop your flow of numbers. Mathieu's solution is a very
elegant algorithm, I didn't know before, but I'll remember that one
now. 

BTW (going off topic now): 

I think it was a swiss scientist, who tested how "random" humans
behave. He rolled a dice, and test persons  were told to guess the
result without seeing the dice.

The humans unintentionally tried to avoid repeating numbers.
Subconsciously they must think, that "true randomness" excludes
repeating results. 

Of course it doesn't. 

ciao
-- 
 Frank Barknecht                               _ ______footils.org__