WEBVTT - Are random number generators possible? 0:00:00.320 --> 0:00:03.000 Brought to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve Camray. 0:00:03.240 --> 0:00:08.959 It's ready. Are you get in touch with technology with 0:00:09.039 --> 0:00:18.120 tech Stuff from how stuff works dot com. Hello again, everyone, 0:00:18.160 --> 0:00:21.160 and welcome to tech stuff. My name is Chris Poette, 0:00:21.160 --> 0:00:23.000 and I am an editor here at how stuff works 0:00:23.000 --> 0:00:25.600 dot com. Sitting across from me, as he always does 0:00:25.640 --> 0:00:29.720 on these occasions, is senior writer Jonathan Strickland. Hey there, 0:00:30.320 --> 0:00:33.120 all right, then, so we have some listener mail to 0:00:33.280 --> 0:00:41.440 start us off. Okay, this listener mail comes from Harry 0:00:41.520 --> 0:00:45.200 from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He says, Hey, 0:00:45.400 --> 0:00:47.559 as a table top gamer, I have been known to 0:00:47.600 --> 0:00:51.559 generate a few random numbers via my trustee D twenty. However, 0:00:51.640 --> 0:00:53.920 I know computers are able to do this without tossing 0:00:54.040 --> 0:01:00.200 around an ico hay, drawn, Just how do digital randomer 0:01:00.240 --> 0:01:04.280 generator's work and are they truly random? So? D twenty, 0:01:04.319 --> 0:01:07.319 for those of you who are not entrenched in the 0:01:07.480 --> 0:01:12.840 geek world as I am, that is a twenty sided die. Yeah. That, 0:01:13.280 --> 0:01:15.919 As it turns out, that's a far more effective tool 0:01:16.000 --> 0:01:19.959 for generating random numbers than a computer can be. Yeah, 0:01:20.040 --> 0:01:23.760 and uh, here's here's the basics of why that is 0:01:24.560 --> 0:01:28.080 a computer follows instructions. So you have to be able 0:01:28.120 --> 0:01:30.200 to give a computer instructions in order for it to 0:01:30.240 --> 0:01:33.240 do anything. Yes, in order for you to be able 0:01:33.280 --> 0:01:35.360 to tell it to generate a number, you have to 0:01:35.400 --> 0:01:39.080 tell it how to generate that number. And it is very, 0:01:39.280 --> 0:01:42.399 very challenging to create a way to tell a computer 0:01:42.720 --> 0:01:46.720 to generate a number so that that number is truly random. 0:01:46.800 --> 0:01:51.560 And when we're talking about truly random, or it may 0:01:51.560 --> 0:01:54.040 seem that a random number generator that you might use 0:01:54.120 --> 0:01:57.000 online is random, but it's random to you and not 0:01:57.040 --> 0:02:01.000 the computer, depending on what system they're using. Well, that's true, 0:02:01.000 --> 0:02:02.680 but a lot of the ones that I've seen for 0:02:02.800 --> 0:02:08.639 free are using an algorithm to determine a random number. Right, 0:02:08.720 --> 0:02:11.840 And there are a couple of different ways that computers 0:02:11.880 --> 0:02:16.120 tried to generate random numbers. Okay, so in one version, 0:02:16.800 --> 0:02:19.920 the computer actually just has a table of numbers that 0:02:19.960 --> 0:02:24.880 have been pregenerated through some complex means, and that the 0:02:24.960 --> 0:02:28.680 numbers themselves appear to be random because it's a string 0:02:28.720 --> 0:02:31.400 of numbers that don't repeat in any sort of in 0:02:31.600 --> 0:02:34.440 any source of sequence, no matter how long the number is. 0:02:34.560 --> 0:02:37.840 And we're talking about numbers that could have thousands and 0:02:37.880 --> 0:02:40.720 thousands of digits within them, right, I mean it's it 0:02:41.040 --> 0:02:45.160 could be as simple as generating numbers at random and 0:02:45.280 --> 0:02:48.080 making a list, and it's going down and saying, okay, number, 0:02:49.440 --> 0:02:52.519 this is the number, right, three, six, this is the number. 0:02:52.639 --> 0:02:56.079 But it also might also is likely to be using 0:02:56.120 --> 0:03:00.600 an algorithm it says, okay, well, add twenty to this one. Okay, 0:03:00.720 --> 0:03:04.399 at fourteen to this one, add one to that one. Right, 0:03:04.480 --> 0:03:07.399 So you if you know where you are in the sequence, 0:03:07.520 --> 0:03:12.359 you can predict what the next theoretically random number is. Right. 0:03:12.440 --> 0:03:15.520 So if it's if it's the list version that that 0:03:15.560 --> 0:03:18.400 we were talking about before, let's let's make it really simple. 0:03:18.680 --> 0:03:21.320 Let's say you have a list of ten numbers and 0:03:21.400 --> 0:03:24.000 each of those numbers is ten digits long, but the 0:03:24.160 --> 0:03:28.040 digits are apparently random. Yes, all right, so there's no 0:03:28.160 --> 0:03:31.640 like easy sequence to follow with you, and we have 0:03:31.960 --> 0:03:37.360 just completed, Uh, we've just used random number number eight, Okay, 0:03:37.560 --> 0:03:39.800 all right. That means that we would have random number 0:03:39.920 --> 0:03:42.280 number nine and random number number ten, and then it 0:03:42.320 --> 0:03:45.360 would go back to random number number one. So if 0:03:45.400 --> 0:03:47.920 you had the table in front of you, and you 0:03:47.960 --> 0:03:51.000 had you knew how many of those random numbers there were, 0:03:51.320 --> 0:03:54.840 and you knew where it was. In the previous iteration 0:03:54.920 --> 0:03:57.520 of generating a random number, you would know the next 0:03:57.640 --> 0:04:02.360 quote unquote random number. So the number itself may appear 0:04:02.400 --> 0:04:04.200 to be random, but you would still be able to 0:04:04.200 --> 0:04:06.240 predict what it was because you had the list. Right. 0:04:06.920 --> 0:04:09.200 So that's a problem because random numbers are used in 0:04:09.240 --> 0:04:12.800 things like encryption, so you want you want those numbers 0:04:12.800 --> 0:04:15.000 to be as true as close to true random as 0:04:15.040 --> 0:04:19.839 possible so that it is not easy or or preferably 0:04:20.160 --> 0:04:23.240 possible to break that encryption. I think this is a 0:04:23.279 --> 0:04:26.919 good time to introduce two concepts. Okay, uh, that would 0:04:26.920 --> 0:04:31.960 be the the pseudo random number generator, sure, and the 0:04:32.120 --> 0:04:36.600 true random number generator. Right. So true random number generators 0:04:36.640 --> 0:04:39.320 are actually kind of easier to to explain. Yeah, I 0:04:39.320 --> 0:04:42.160 think so too. So a true random number generator is 0:04:42.240 --> 0:04:48.320 something that can generate a random number excluding any minor 0:04:48.800 --> 0:04:51.640 quantum effects that you want to imagine. So let's talk 0:04:51.640 --> 0:04:54.039 about that D twenty. Yeah, that's an excellent example of 0:04:54.080 --> 0:04:56.040 a true random number generator, right when you roll that 0:04:56.120 --> 0:04:59.720 D twenty. Theoretically, anytime you roll that D twenty, there 0:04:59.720 --> 0:05:02.240 should be an equal chance of any number between one 0:05:02.240 --> 0:05:06.840 and twenty popping up as the the eventual result. That is, 0:05:06.880 --> 0:05:11.320 assuming that your D twenty is equally sharp on all sides, 0:05:11.680 --> 0:05:13.800 and I mean the edges are the exact same and 0:05:13.880 --> 0:05:19.159 the surface. That's what I'm talking about, elimiting the quantum effects, Okay, 0:05:19.200 --> 0:05:21.240 because when I when I'm talking about quantum effects in 0:05:21.240 --> 0:05:23.080 this case, I'm talking about things that are so small 0:05:23.160 --> 0:05:26.440 that we can't really observe them anyway. So it doesn't 0:05:26.839 --> 0:05:29.560 you know, if you eliminate all that and you say that, 0:05:29.680 --> 0:05:32.440 with all things being equal, rolling on the same surface 0:05:32.839 --> 0:05:37.680 with a perfectly uh intact D twenty, you should get 0:05:37.720 --> 0:05:40.400 a random result every time you roll it, right, right, 0:05:40.440 --> 0:05:42.160 I have a couple of D twenties that look like 0:05:42.279 --> 0:05:46.240 a dog chewed on them. Yes, and in those cases, 0:05:46.520 --> 0:05:49.080 there might be some numbers that might roll up more 0:05:49.120 --> 0:05:51.840 often than others just because of the shape of that 0:05:51.960 --> 0:05:55.240 D twenty exactly. But a true random number generator would 0:05:55.240 --> 0:05:59.479 not give any preference to any particular result. Uh. Pseudo 0:06:00.040 --> 0:06:04.360 random number generators are different. Yes, they We've already been 0:06:04.360 --> 0:06:08.040 talking about pseudorandom number generators, which is the number generators 0:06:08.080 --> 0:06:12.440 that are using the algorithms or a predetermined list of 0:06:12.520 --> 0:06:18.960 numbers that that are being used to theoretically generate random number. Now, 0:06:19.000 --> 0:06:23.880 the the the algorithms use something called a seedy, and 0:06:23.920 --> 0:06:28.119 a seed is a predetermined figure that gets plugged into 0:06:28.120 --> 0:06:32.760 the algorithm that helps generate the seemingly random numbers. But 0:06:32.839 --> 0:06:35.599 if you know what the seed is, then theoretically you 0:06:35.640 --> 0:06:39.520 can eventually determine what the algorithm is and then break 0:06:39.640 --> 0:06:41.960 the encryption. Now this is this is not as easy 0:06:42.000 --> 0:06:43.800 as I'm making it sound. It's not like this is 0:06:44.000 --> 0:06:49.080 a trivial task. No, No, it's actually incredibly difficult. Yeah, 0:06:49.520 --> 0:06:51.400 as long as uh. I mean, if if you have 0:06:51.480 --> 0:06:55.440 no clue what the seed is or what the algorithm is, 0:06:55.480 --> 0:06:58.360 it's it's going to appear to you to be random, right, 0:06:58.400 --> 0:07:00.600 it's going to seem like an impossible test to break it. 0:07:00.880 --> 0:07:03.920 But if you were to find one of those two elements, 0:07:04.279 --> 0:07:07.920 then theoretically, over several results, you would be able to 0:07:07.960 --> 0:07:11.320 eventually derive the other. You would either be able to 0:07:11.400 --> 0:07:14.200 derive the seed or you'd be able to derive the algorithm. 0:07:14.520 --> 0:07:19.320 And again, this is it's not easy, but it is 0:07:19.520 --> 0:07:22.040 theoretically at any rate possible, which is why you want 0:07:22.080 --> 0:07:24.520 to get as close to a true random number generator 0:07:24.560 --> 0:07:27.960 as possible, because then you can't predict it because it 0:07:28.040 --> 0:07:31.480 is random. Now, what I think is interesting is the 0:07:31.520 --> 0:07:34.000 way again we're talking about when you get back to 0:07:34.040 --> 0:07:36.600 the computers, if you're if you're doing the pseudo random 0:07:36.680 --> 0:07:39.240 number generator, that's a lot easier. Yes, because that's something 0:07:39.280 --> 0:07:42.559 you can do within the realm of computing. Yes, And 0:07:42.560 --> 0:07:45.360 and there are quite a few, as I found out, 0:07:45.640 --> 0:07:49.760 pseudo random number generators available online. You can you can 0:07:49.800 --> 0:07:51.840 say hey, I need a random number, and you can 0:07:51.880 --> 0:07:54.760 go find a website somewhere that will give you something 0:07:54.800 --> 0:07:57.800 that appears to be a completely random number. Yeah. And 0:07:57.840 --> 0:08:00.920 it's um it's a really efficient, is some I mean, 0:08:01.040 --> 0:08:03.080 it doesn't take long at all for a pseudo random 0:08:03.160 --> 0:08:06.360 number generator to come up with a number. True random 0:08:06.440 --> 0:08:10.520 number generators tend to take longer to to generate that number. 0:08:10.960 --> 0:08:13.640 So uh. And when I'm saying longer, I'm talking about 0:08:13.680 --> 0:08:16.160 maybe a matter of seconds. But in computing terms, that's 0:08:16.160 --> 0:08:21.920 an eternity. Now, you would want a true number random 0:08:22.000 --> 0:08:26.000 number generator for for certain tasks, like like a lottery. 0:08:26.560 --> 0:08:29.600 You don't want people to be able to predict your lottery. Um, 0:08:29.680 --> 0:08:32.200 that would be bad because then it would no longer 0:08:32.240 --> 0:08:35.880 be a gamble. Yeah, well those are those are the 0:08:35.920 --> 0:08:37.760 machines that they used to pull the ping pong balls 0:08:37.760 --> 0:08:41.000 out of her true random numbers exactly. So again assuming 0:08:41.000 --> 0:08:42.920 all the ping pong balls are in the same shape 0:08:42.920 --> 0:08:46.239 and blah blah blah, and they are the same weights, exactly. Uh. 0:08:46.559 --> 0:08:48.959 But things like random sampling if you wanted to do, 0:08:49.320 --> 0:08:51.600 if you wanted to do true random sampling, and I 0:08:51.640 --> 0:08:53.480 can give you an example of where this would be 0:08:53.520 --> 0:08:58.400 really important. Excellent airports. Yes, so in an airport security line. 0:08:58.640 --> 0:09:03.000 You know, supposedly airport security are going to single out 0:09:03.040 --> 0:09:06.880 people for random screening. Now to make that truly a 0:09:06.960 --> 0:09:11.440 random event where it's not based upon anyone's appearance, you know, 0:09:11.679 --> 0:09:13.439 you want to take all of that out because you 0:09:13.480 --> 0:09:15.960 don't want to do the profiling thing, because that has 0:09:16.000 --> 0:09:19.800 its own set of problems. If you're truly random, you 0:09:19.840 --> 0:09:22.760 need to have a system that's going to just tell 0:09:22.840 --> 0:09:26.080 you a really random result, like say the third person, 0:09:26.240 --> 0:09:28.800 the third person to go through the line next, that 0:09:28.840 --> 0:09:31.640 will be someone you single out, and then seventh will 0:09:31.679 --> 0:09:34.120 be the next one or whatever. But you would want 0:09:34.360 --> 0:09:37.000 a true random number generator to come up with that 0:09:37.080 --> 0:09:39.640 so that you could show that there was no preference, 0:09:39.720 --> 0:09:43.520 there was no bias that went into that sample. Plus 0:09:43.520 --> 0:09:45.520 it makes it a little more frightening for someone who 0:09:45.600 --> 0:09:47.920 might be thinking about trying something. Is the idea that 0:09:47.960 --> 0:09:51.319 you might be selected completely at random for a check. 0:09:51.480 --> 0:09:54.360 But yeah, it doesn't matter how quote unquote normal you 0:09:54.400 --> 0:10:00.000 look or unassuming you look, you could still be picked indeed. Um. 0:10:00.000 --> 0:10:02.719 Whereas with a pseudo random number generator, you might want 0:10:02.760 --> 0:10:05.520 that for something like if you're uh doing some sort 0:10:05.559 --> 0:10:09.120 of simulation, because it's going to be much more efficient 0:10:09.160 --> 0:10:11.319 and a lot of When we're talking simulation, we're talking 0:10:11.320 --> 0:10:15.199 about simulation of complex systems, like let's say atmospheric systems. 0:10:15.240 --> 0:10:18.440 That's incredibly complex, and if you were to rely on 0:10:18.520 --> 0:10:22.560 true random number generators to generate the numbers you need 0:10:22.600 --> 0:10:25.400 to run that simulation, it would not be nearly as 0:10:25.440 --> 0:10:27.640 responsive as what you would need to to get a 0:10:27.679 --> 0:10:31.560 true simulation. True simulation is kind of a oxymoron, but 0:10:32.520 --> 0:10:36.439 at any rate, um, But there's some really cool ways 0:10:37.080 --> 0:10:43.160 that various organizations and and and mathematicians have come up 0:10:43.160 --> 0:10:46.679 with to try and create as random a number generator 0:10:46.760 --> 0:10:50.520 as possible. Using computers. Yes, I figured, since you just 0:10:50.600 --> 0:10:54.439 mentioned it, the use of atmospheric noise would be a 0:10:54.480 --> 0:10:56.840 good place to start in that it's a random dot org. 0:10:56.880 --> 0:10:59.720 It's a great resource as far as putting this podcast together. 0:10:59.760 --> 0:11:04.920 And yes, yes, definitely, Um, that's that's how they try 0:11:04.960 --> 0:11:08.079 to generate random numbers. Right, So let's say, let's say 0:11:08.120 --> 0:11:10.360 that what they do is it's a combination of the 0:11:10.360 --> 0:11:14.600 pseudo random number generator and the true random number generator method. Uh. 0:11:14.640 --> 0:11:21.319 They use observations of atmospheric phenomena to generate a random 0:11:21.400 --> 0:11:24.680 number and um, and they do that by putting it 0:11:24.720 --> 0:11:27.560 through I suppose it's like putting it through an algorithm. 0:11:27.800 --> 0:11:30.880 But at any rate that they depending on what's going 0:11:30.920 --> 0:11:33.280 on the atmosphere at any given moment, that's what's going 0:11:33.320 --> 0:11:38.520 to generate that random number. Uh. Now, now we start 0:11:38.520 --> 0:11:42.920 to enter a philosophical debate about whether or not that 0:11:43.559 --> 0:11:47.520 atmospheric conditions are truly random. And the reason why there's 0:11:47.559 --> 0:11:50.360 a debate is that there's still a debate on is 0:11:50.440 --> 0:11:54.800 everything deterministic, meaning that things happen and those things cause 0:11:54.880 --> 0:11:57.240 other things to happen, and those things cause other things 0:11:57.280 --> 0:11:59.480 to happen. And if you know the whole system. You 0:11:59.520 --> 0:12:04.000 can predict everything that's going to happen. Versus nondeterministic which 0:12:04.000 --> 0:12:10.839 allows for random occurrences. Fish still not not aplicy I 0:12:10.960 --> 0:12:13.840 knew that was going to happen, so that's real, that's 0:12:13.840 --> 0:12:20.440 not random. Good point. So now in a deterministic system, 0:12:20.679 --> 0:12:22.920 what you could argue is that the conditions of the 0:12:22.960 --> 0:12:27.480 atmosphere are in fact predictable if you know all the 0:12:27.559 --> 0:12:31.640 factors that are going into making that condition. But that's 0:12:32.120 --> 0:12:34.680 if there is a low pressure system. You could say, well, 0:12:35.440 --> 0:12:38.000 you know, there is a good possibility that is going 0:12:38.040 --> 0:12:41.120 to rain today, and so I by that I could 0:12:41.120 --> 0:12:43.240 say it is more likely to rain than not rain 0:12:43.480 --> 0:12:47.120 because the pressure is low. So there are things factors 0:12:47.160 --> 0:12:49.960 taken a new cap, but what about the smog in 0:12:50.000 --> 0:12:53.559 the area, or whether there is dust from any interference 0:12:53.559 --> 0:12:57.440 from electromagnetic radiation Exactly these things can factor into it 0:12:57.520 --> 0:13:00.480 to uh to change the probability that something will happen. 0:13:00.520 --> 0:13:03.640 That's why we're talking about these incredibly complex systems. Now, 0:13:03.679 --> 0:13:05.720 if there were some way for you to know all 0:13:05.760 --> 0:13:08.880 the factors that were going into making the atmosphere behave 0:13:09.400 --> 0:13:12.600 a particular way at any particular time, you could no 0:13:12.679 --> 0:13:16.520 longer say that that was a random number. It's almost 0:13:16.679 --> 0:13:19.440 just an academic argument because there's no way you can 0:13:19.520 --> 0:13:23.080 know all those factors. It's just too complex, and especially 0:13:23.080 --> 0:13:26.120 if you start to pull in things like chaos theory. Now, 0:13:26.160 --> 0:13:29.160 if you've heard of chaos theory, you know that chaos 0:13:29.200 --> 0:13:35.360 theory states that very small events can contribute to enormous events. 0:13:35.400 --> 0:13:39.160 And the thought experiment that is always referred to is 0:13:39.160 --> 0:13:42.920 that a butterfly flaps its wings and John Travolta gets 0:13:42.920 --> 0:13:47.600 a movie no, I'm sorry, tsunami wipes out some city 0:13:47.679 --> 0:13:52.360 somewhere across the world. So the wind uh generated, the 0:13:52.600 --> 0:13:56.439 tiny little movement of air molecules generated by that butterfly's 0:13:56.440 --> 0:14:00.000 wings flapping in Brazil sets off a chain of events 0:14:00.280 --> 0:14:05.720 that ultimately leads to a catastrophically huge weather phenomena somewhere 0:14:05.720 --> 0:14:09.319 across the globe. UH. And of course, not like, not 0:14:09.400 --> 0:14:12.960 like instantaneously. Not I'm not suggesting that Brazilians go out 0:14:12.960 --> 0:14:18.800 in massacre butterflies, but rather that these tiny events are 0:14:18.880 --> 0:14:22.760 what contribute to enormous events. So in that sense, anything 0:14:22.760 --> 0:14:24.760 that's going on in the atmosphere at any given time 0:14:25.320 --> 0:14:29.040 is is the product of so many different tiny factors 0:14:29.080 --> 0:14:34.640 that it's mind boggling right, right, So that uh, it's 0:14:34.680 --> 0:14:38.280 it's so complex essentially then that while it is not 0:14:39.040 --> 0:14:41.800 that is essentially random, right, it may or may not 0:14:41.880 --> 0:14:45.200 be truly random. But one, we are not capable of 0:14:45.240 --> 0:14:48.920 knowing that because it's so complex. And two it doesn't 0:14:48.960 --> 0:14:52.840 matter because we're not capable of knowing that. So even 0:14:52.880 --> 0:14:56.440 if even if you were to somehow philosophically argue that 0:14:56.480 --> 0:14:59.400 it's not truly random, it's as close to truly random 0:14:59.440 --> 0:15:01.480 as it needs to be, or in order for us 0:15:01.480 --> 0:15:02.880 to go ahead and say, you know, it's just an 0:15:02.880 --> 0:15:07.400 academic argument. Um, And that's not the only the the atmosphere, 0:15:07.400 --> 0:15:10.040 observing the atmosphere is not the only method that people 0:15:10.080 --> 0:15:15.040 have used to try and generate a random number. No, 0:15:15.240 --> 0:15:17.960 not at all. And it's um. And as a matter 0:15:18.000 --> 0:15:20.120 of fact, the one I think you were thinking of 0:15:20.400 --> 0:15:24.680 would be, uh, the quantum mechanics version of determining random numbers. 0:15:24.680 --> 0:15:26.920 That one that was a cool one. It's a really 0:15:26.920 --> 0:15:31.600 cool idea. Uh, we're talking about by using particles that 0:15:31.640 --> 0:15:36.400 are smaller than an atom to determine the randomness of 0:15:37.240 --> 0:15:40.600 an event or in this case, generate random numbers. Yeah, 0:15:40.960 --> 0:15:46.720 we're talking here about these quantum particles are behaving in 0:15:46.760 --> 0:15:51.000 a way that we cannot predict at this time. Now, again, 0:15:51.440 --> 0:15:54.480 this could mean that either the quantum particles behave in 0:15:54.480 --> 0:15:57.760 a truly random fashion, or it may mean that we 0:15:57.840 --> 0:16:01.280 don't understand them well enough to be able to recognize 0:16:01.320 --> 0:16:04.760 the patterns or a series of events that are going on. 0:16:05.360 --> 0:16:07.160 Or it may be that we we just don't have 0:16:07.240 --> 0:16:11.600 the instruments capable of measuring that. So it may be 0:16:11.880 --> 0:16:14.560 that the behavior is in fact predictable if we have 0:16:14.720 --> 0:16:20.600 enough information instant of enough uh instruments. But as it 0:16:20.640 --> 0:16:23.240 stands right now, it appears to be completely random. So 0:16:23.280 --> 0:16:27.080 if you base a random number generator off of quantum events, 0:16:27.680 --> 0:16:31.040 then you would get results that to us appear to 0:16:31.080 --> 0:16:34.760 be completely random, and you could generate enormous numbers, I 0:16:34.800 --> 0:16:37.040 mean numbers that are so big that you know you 0:16:37.760 --> 0:16:39.800 you would if you were to try and write one 0:16:39.880 --> 0:16:41.400 down on a sheet of paper, would take up the 0:16:41.480 --> 0:16:46.720 entire sheet and and it would have no apparent repeating 0:16:46.800 --> 0:16:51.800 integers at all. As you're going through there. Um Yeah, 0:16:51.800 --> 0:16:56.160 hot fits actually is a website um a project from 0:16:56.240 --> 0:17:01.640 a an organization in Switzerland Formulab, and UH they have 0:17:01.920 --> 0:17:06.880 connected a Geiger Mueller tube to a computer to basically 0:17:07.520 --> 0:17:12.199 UH their drag racing decaying atoms. Right, because adams decay 0:17:12.320 --> 0:17:16.600 at an unpredictable rate, right, So that so by measuring 0:17:16.640 --> 0:17:19.960 the decay rate, UH, that can in turn generate a 0:17:20.040 --> 0:17:22.760 random number. Yeah, they take two, they take a pair 0:17:23.040 --> 0:17:28.440 of decaying atoms and UH basically when when when one 0:17:28.480 --> 0:17:32.960 of them decays and and releases particles, then that helps 0:17:33.000 --> 0:17:38.080 them generate random numbers. And pretty amazing stuff really to 0:17:38.080 --> 0:17:39.840 to be measuring that and to be using that for 0:17:39.880 --> 0:17:43.480 a number. But the thing is, as as Jonathan mentioned earlier, 0:17:43.800 --> 0:17:47.399 it is not something that happens very quickly. You have 0:17:47.480 --> 0:17:50.879 to submit a series of numbers. You say, I want 0:17:51.680 --> 0:17:55.399 fifty six random numbers, and they have to be no 0:17:55.640 --> 0:18:00.200 larger than you know, forty three digits long, and things 0:18:00.200 --> 0:18:01.560 like that. You have to you have to program this 0:18:01.680 --> 0:18:05.080 in advance, and they will return and set of numbers 0:18:05.080 --> 0:18:08.520 to you. But it will not happen instantaneously. Now do 0:18:08.560 --> 0:18:13.199 you know what my favorite, uh version favorite way of 0:18:13.280 --> 0:18:16.959 generating random numbers is? What's that? My favorite one was 0:18:17.000 --> 0:18:19.200 a project and unfortunately don't have the name in front 0:18:19.240 --> 0:18:21.240 of me. But my favorite one was a project where 0:18:21.240 --> 0:18:24.000 it was using a webcam pointed at a lava lamp 0:18:25.200 --> 0:18:29.240 and by measuring the shapes of the lava quote unquote 0:18:29.240 --> 0:18:32.840 in the lava lamp, it generated random numbers. So the 0:18:33.440 --> 0:18:37.439 yes as the lava lamp, as the the wax inside 0:18:37.440 --> 0:18:41.680 the lava lamp changed shape, the webcam would measure that, 0:18:41.800 --> 0:18:43.159 you know, it would get an image of it, and 0:18:43.160 --> 0:18:46.520 it would be analyzed by the computer to create a 0:18:46.600 --> 0:18:51.800 random number. And because the shape was constantly changing, you 0:18:51.800 --> 0:18:55.879 could generate random numbers at any given time. And I 0:18:55.960 --> 0:18:59.400 love that. The simplicity and the elegance of it is amazing. 0:18:59.400 --> 0:19:01.880 Oh yes, so you've got it in front of you. Yes, 0:19:02.119 --> 0:19:03.760 I don't have my glasses on, so I can't read it. 0:19:04.080 --> 0:19:08.040 Lava Lava RAND, Lava RAND, Yes, l A v A 0:19:08.280 --> 0:19:11.160 r n D. That project is still still exists, although 0:19:11.160 --> 0:19:14.240 they are no longer generating random numbers based off lava lamps. 0:19:14.280 --> 0:19:16.760 As far as I understand, that's pretty neat. Though I 0:19:16.760 --> 0:19:18.159 had never heard of it before. Now it is a 0:19:18.320 --> 0:19:21.280 neat neat concept. I thought that was you know again, 0:19:21.760 --> 0:19:26.640 mathematicians are wacky, crazy, awesome people and we're talking about 0:19:26.640 --> 0:19:30.600 like mathematicians, who are you know, studying math for things 0:19:30.640 --> 0:19:34.040 like number theory. Yes, stuff that's so far beyond my understanding, 0:19:34.119 --> 0:19:40.680 as the Aida Love Lace podcast illustrated to Great Lakes. Um. 0:19:40.720 --> 0:19:43.280 But yeah, that these are the folks who are are 0:19:43.520 --> 0:19:46.160 coming up with the various theories about how to generate 0:19:46.240 --> 0:19:49.680 random numbers if in fact it is truly possible. Yes, 0:19:49.720 --> 0:19:51.520 and I think that their work proves that our days 0:19:51.520 --> 0:19:55.280 are numbered. Well, with that, how about we move on 0:19:55.320 --> 0:20:02.800 to a little listener mail? Is it? This really isn't 0:20:02.960 --> 0:20:05.919 listener mail. This is a message that comes to us 0:20:06.200 --> 0:20:10.640 courtesy of our Facebook group. So, uh, Elizabeth, Elizabeth, we're 0:20:10.640 --> 0:20:15.280 gonna call this Facebook facts and then uh putting put 0:20:15.280 --> 0:20:18.359 in the sound of a hand slapping someone's face. Owl. 0:20:19.160 --> 0:20:23.520 So this comes from Dan, and Dan says, uh, says, 0:20:23.600 --> 0:20:26.680 how about late a history of broken English and long 0:20:26.720 --> 0:20:28.800 forgotten keyboard keys. I would like to see how it 0:20:28.840 --> 0:20:33.800 came about. Also popular terms like pound. Thanks all right, Dan, 0:20:34.280 --> 0:20:37.359 So you're talking about let speak leap being short for 0:20:37.520 --> 0:20:40.760 elite and really this kind of grew out of the 0:20:40.960 --> 0:20:45.080 bulletin board system culture. So you had on bulletin board systems, 0:20:45.280 --> 0:20:48.439 you normally had not Normally, a lot of bulletin boards 0:20:48.480 --> 0:20:53.280 had multiple um levels of access, and there might be 0:20:53.359 --> 0:20:55.520 a general access where you can log in and you 0:20:55.560 --> 0:20:58.560 can access certain things that everyone has access to. But 0:20:58.600 --> 0:21:02.080 then you might have to pay or be invited to 0:21:02.160 --> 0:21:06.479 become part of a more restricted access community, and that 0:21:06.560 --> 0:21:10.280 might get you stuff like access to two different files 0:21:10.400 --> 0:21:14.200 or games or whatever. And because you're part of an 0:21:14.760 --> 0:21:19.240 inner community, you of course would began to develop a 0:21:19.280 --> 0:21:22.560 sense of elitism because that's just that's kind of how 0:21:22.600 --> 0:21:25.600 we humans work. Well, yes, we uh, we do tend 0:21:25.640 --> 0:21:30.040 to enjoy being part of an exclusive club. Yes, and uh. 0:21:30.080 --> 0:21:32.360 When you are part of an exclusive club and you're 0:21:32.520 --> 0:21:35.160 interested in being part of an exclusive club, you might 0:21:35.880 --> 0:21:39.719 try to find ways to maybe disguise what you're doing 0:21:40.000 --> 0:21:43.919 so that not everyone could find it via simple keyword search. Right, 0:21:44.000 --> 0:21:46.119 So you start to develop your own language, and we 0:21:46.200 --> 0:21:50.879 see this across human societies outside of the computer realm, 0:21:50.880 --> 0:21:52.520 of course. Well slang, I mean, if you find a 0:21:52.560 --> 0:21:56.080 slang dictionary and and the slang terms go from generation 0:21:56.119 --> 0:21:58.720 to generation and region the region, and region the region. 0:21:58.760 --> 0:22:01.480 So you might find a certain group has their own 0:22:01.560 --> 0:22:04.480 kind of vocabulary. Well, the same thing with lead speak. 0:22:04.840 --> 0:22:07.080 Lead speak, as Chris was pointing out, part of it 0:22:07.160 --> 0:22:09.160 was to kind of obvious skate what they were talking 0:22:09.200 --> 0:22:12.160 about so that you couldn't easily find it with a search. UM. 0:22:12.200 --> 0:22:15.200 This was particularly important if they were trying to share 0:22:15.280 --> 0:22:19.320 things like software that had been under copyright. If you 0:22:19.480 --> 0:22:23.119 had an a copy of a program and you had 0:22:23.160 --> 0:22:25.560 cracked it so that you didn't need any kind of UH, 0:22:26.440 --> 0:22:28.520 there was no longer any DRM attached to it, there 0:22:28.560 --> 0:22:30.679 was no sort of copy protection attached to it, and 0:22:30.720 --> 0:22:33.479 you wanted to share this with all of your lead friends, 0:22:33.520 --> 0:22:35.359 but you didn't want people to figure out that you 0:22:35.400 --> 0:22:38.359 were doing something illegal. You might go through and change 0:22:38.359 --> 0:22:41.880 a few little figures, a little some of the letters 0:22:41.960 --> 0:22:45.120 to different symbols so that you know, you could still 0:22:45.160 --> 0:22:47.760 read it, because the you know, we look at it 0:22:47.800 --> 0:22:51.200 and we're like, okay, well that that that UH dollar 0:22:51.280 --> 0:22:54.480 sign is supposed to stand for an S or three 0:22:54.600 --> 0:22:57.840 for any yeah, or five for an s um or 0:22:57.920 --> 0:23:01.040 four for an A, that kind of thing. But you know, 0:23:01.119 --> 0:23:03.120 if you were to search for that term, it wouldn't 0:23:03.160 --> 0:23:07.040 come up because the computer doesn't know that the uh 0:23:07.119 --> 0:23:10.280 the symbols are standing in for letters UH that that's 0:23:10.280 --> 0:23:12.280 a human thing. That's one of those things that humans 0:23:12.280 --> 0:23:14.760 do really well that computers don't do well unless you 0:23:14.800 --> 0:23:17.600 go through in program and a whole new database of words. 0:23:18.160 --> 0:23:21.119 I mean, anybody who's who's done the sorry, go ahead, 0:23:21.320 --> 0:23:25.480 anyone who's done the the calculator thing where you type in, 0:23:25.720 --> 0:23:28.160 you know, certain numbers and then flip it over and 0:23:28.200 --> 0:23:30.800 realize that they look a lot like you know, the 0:23:30.880 --> 0:23:32.840 numbers actually look sort of like a word. You can 0:23:32.840 --> 0:23:37.520 spell very few simple words using a calculator, but um, 0:23:37.560 --> 0:23:40.639 you know, it's it's instantly recognizable to somebody who has 0:23:40.680 --> 0:23:43.640