Random number challenge
Hans Fugal
hans at fugal.net
Sat Jun 14 09:04:55 MDT 2008
Von Fugal wrote:
> Hey, excluding already generated numbers is *not* random, and it flies
> in the face of the multiple prizes for Fugals tradition!
>
> Von Fugal
>
Well, technically you can still call it random but the problem
definition has changed. It's called random selection without
replacement. But there's no need to get complicated - just skip
duplicates by generating the next random number by hand. You can tell
when a duplicate comes up by the groans of all but one person, who has a
big grin.
Think of it as drawing cards from a deck. You can do that randomly but
you'll never draw the ace of clubs more than once unless you put it back
into the deck after drawing it the first time.
--
Hans Fugal ; http://hans.fugal.net
There's nothing remarkable about it. All one has to do is hit the
right keys at the right time and the instrument plays itself.
-- Johann Sebastian Bach
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