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From: jqb@netcom.com (Jim Balter)
Subject: Re: rand() - implementation ideas [Q]
Message-ID: <jqbE0Ixo4.Htx@netcom.com>
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References: <54lr8o$ndm@nntp.seflin.lib.fl.us> <raffael-0611961730080001@macav.tiac.net> <328193F8.2EA5@gnn.com> <jqbE0ItsD.A1p@netcom.com>
Date: Thu, 7 Nov 1996 23:38:28 GMT
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Xref: glinda.oz.cs.cmu.edu comp.ai:41983 comp.ai.philosophy:48440 comp.ai.alife:6858

In article <jqbE0ItsD.A1p@netcom.com>, Jim Balter <jqb@netcom.com> wrote:
>In article <328193F8.2EA5@gnn.com>,
>Joseph D. Gutierrez <GutZoft@gnn.com> wrote:
>>> 1 0
>>> 
>>> Here's an uncompressible series. It's also random.
>>Let me compress it for you
>>0
>>or even
>>1
>
>Yes, but there is a technical notion of compressibility that refers to the
>length of the program that it would take to compress a sequence.  If the

I should have said something like "length of the shortest program to generate
a sequence".  "compress" definitely doesn't belong there.

>length of the program is N+c, where N is the length of the sequence and c is a
>value determined by the UTM which takes the program as input, then the
>sequence is not compressible.
>
>>Randomness is in the eye of the beholder.
>
>It is really worth reading the Chaitin pages or the Li and Vitanyi book
>referred to earlier.  There are technical definitions of randomness
>that fit the intuitive requirements rather well.
-- 
<J Q B>

