Pi: Less Random Than We Thought

Autoversicherung writes "Physicists including Purdue's Ephraim Fischbach have completed a study comparing the 'randomness' in pi to that produced by 30 software random-number generators and one chaos-generating physical machine. After conducting several tests, they have found that while sequences of digits from pi are indeed an acceptable source of randomness -- often an important factor in data encryption and in solving certain physics problems -- pi's digit string does not always produce randomness as effectively as manufactured generators do."

Comments

Re:Computing any digit of pi

[cperciva]

Not only that, but the five trillionth, forty trillionth, and the quadrillionth bits of Pi are all zero... I did all that work, and it all came to naught.

Re:I'm not too suprised

[Glonoinha]

Even quantum physics, although theoretically 'random', is generally predictable and reliably recreatable for a large T distribution over time.
If you want truly unpredictable, unrecreatable, random numbers - let my wife balance your checkbook.

Re:Al-Kashi, a cool mathematician

[cryptor3]

Problem solved, next problem. ... Here's to Al-Kashi, a sane man and a pragmatic!

Lazy bastard.