How random is random?

[Michiel Spape]

If you don't want to see your random looking unrandomly, it pays off to use randomisation without replacement... That is, just make an array with your angles and randomise that. That will 'make it look more random' (though it is obviously less so), and I suspect we, humans, just tend to be very unrandom about random in general (i.e. the number 1111111 looking much less random than 2148712, for instance). Other than that, I suggest what E-Basic Help will tell you:

Syntax

Randomize [number]

Description

Initializes the random number generator with a new seed.

Comments

If number is not specified, then the current value of the system clock is used.

Example

'This example sets the randomize seed to a random number between
'100 and 1000, then generates ten random numbers for the lottery.
Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)
Sub Main()
	Randomize						'Start with new random seed.
	For x = 1 To 10 
		y = Random(0,100)		'Generate numbers.
		message = message + Str(y) + crlf
	Next x
	MsgBox "Ten numbers for the lottery: " & crlf & message

End Sub

Cheers,
Mich


Michiel Spapé
Research Fellow
Perception & Action group
University of Nottingham
School of Psychology


-----Original Message-----
From: e-prime at googlegroups.com [mailto:e-prime at googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Siatra Vasiliki
Sent: 11 February 2010 11:17
To: E-Prime
Subject: Re: How random is random?

Well, when I want to use a randomized exp I prefer a more
unsophisticated way.
I use the RAND function in excel for my items (and this can be done
also within subcategories)
and then have the sequential choice for the selection order.
But in this way you have the same random order for every subj.

Vasiliqu.ee

On Feb 11, 11:00 am, Tobias <tobias... at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi together,
>
> I was wondering: What's your experience with E-Prime randomizing
> things? It sometimes occured to me that e.g. conditions from a list
> are not that randomly picked.
> Just yesterday I used some InLineScript "y = random(1,180) in order to
> pick a bitmap. As these bitmaps content a line of a certain angle and
> are put on the screen in a matrix, you can kind of see how "mixed up"
> it looks. It seems to me that which number is picked relies to some
> extent on the number picked before. No real random...
>
> Do you know if there is any way to draw random numbers in a better
> way? To optimise the random seed?
>
> Thanks a lot,
> Tobias

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