Everything around us is random. From the tiniest details like the structure of a snowflake to the formation of planetary systems in the university. Human things are predominantly random, even when they don’t seem to be. Our own personal existence is the result of a string of random events occurring in sequence and even mundane decisions like where to sit on the bus can be affected by randomness.
Randomness is natural. But it’s that very fact that makes randomness difficult for humans to replicate artificially.
If you’ve ever tried to code a piece of software, you’ll likely have come across a random function within the programming language that can generate seemingly random numbers. However, these digits are pseudorandom, in that they appear random at first glance but are generated by an algorithm that can be reverse-engineered.
Taking Randomness From Nature
The solution is to turn to nature for randomness by capturing elements of the natural and physical world and running them through an algorithm. The external input from an unpredictable source means that, even if the algorithm itself isn’t truly random, the outputs are.
These tools are called random number generators and they play a crucial role in many parts of our lives today.
Casino Games
Today, online casino sites offer hundreds or even thousands of different games including roulette, blackjack, poker, and themed online slots like Big Bass Bonanza or Sweet Bonanza. Each one offers different mechanics, limits, rules, graphics, and themes to suit every playing style and taste.
Despite all of this variety, every online casino game uses the same technology behind the scenes. Behind the code and graphic design of each game is a random number generator that feeds a completely random source into the game to ensure outcomes aren’t predictable and remain completely fair to the player and the house.
Random number generators are necessary in casino games because they replace the randomness achieved from shuffling cards, rolling a dice, or spinning a wheel. They also provide confidence to players that they can trust the casino and its games, helping to create a more enjoyable experience.
Scientific Research
Scientific research relies on randomness to remove bias. Bias can be catastrophically detrimental to the validity of many studies because it can skew results, making findings incorrect, and any recommendations based on them ineffective.
Humans can have bias, skewing results by asking leading questions or being selective in their analysis. However, data can be skewed if it’s not random when it should be.
On small scale studies, randomness can be achieved using low-tech methods like drawing names from a hat or rolling dice. But on larger pieces of research, random number generators can provide the necessary true randomness at scale.
Security
Most of the world’s most important systems are now run digitally. From your personal email account to critical national infrastructure, computers and the internet provide convenience, speed, and accuracy that would not otherwise be possible.
But these benefits don’t come without drawbacks, the most notable of which is security. While most of us are well-intentioned folk, there are hoards of unsavory characters ready to steal data, break systems, and cause havoc.
Encryption is an important tool in the fight against these digital delinquents as it makes data unreadable to anyone without a special key. Rather than being spiky metal sticks, these keys are very long passwords that are unique for each use.
These encryption keys scramble data to make it practically impossible to decode so that it becomes safe to store and transmit.
Random number generators help to ensure these keys are as secure as they can be. Different developers use different sources for their randomness, for example, VeraCrypt software asks users to move their mouse around their screen for around a minute to generate a unique set of numbers.
In contrast, Cloudflare uses a bank of lava lamps in its office lobby. These lamps are recorded by cameras and the movement in the images that they capture are converted into numbers.