The Random Number Grand Challenge

Waaah! ... several minutes later and I realize what it is by glancing at the start-end date/timestamps.

Even the book they linked to seems odd, including all the review statements.

It took me way too long to realise that was a joke...the prize allocation is pretty special though :)

I always thought the best random number generator was:

Take a large Pseudo random #, & add that (in hours) to your current time. Pick a large enough pseudo space to cover 10+ years. Then, read that combined time in microseconds. This combines a real randomness (your current microseconds) that spans all space.

That would cover a very large space in a very random fashion.

The attacker would have to know your computed time to narrow it down, but couldn't narrow it down much at all, since it's combined with the large pseudo random #.

The problem with most Pseudo's is that they are sparse, leaving too much space unhit.

I am feeling so stupid right now. I thought I will use artificial neural networks to predict random numbers. Cringing so bad...

"If there is one thing the working data scientist can do, it is extract insights from a sea of randomness."

Obligatory: http://xkcd.com/221/

And it begins. I hate April Fools Day. I have never understood why deceiving someone is comical.

April Fools finished 4 hours ago for me so I don't really find this funny at all.

I feel kinda annoyed that I looked at what superficially looked like a interesting problem. Can you find the algorithm given pseudorandom random numbers? Can you find any sort of pattern? Interesting stuff that's all within the realms of the possible.

I understand why people in the Kaggle community would enjoy it, you visit their site and see a funny joke, it helps build community.

Not so funny when you get sent straight there.

Restate my assumptions: One, Mathematics is the language of nature. Two, Everything around us can be represented and understood through numbers. Three: If you graph the numbers of any system, patterns emerge. Therefore, there are patterns everywhere in nature. Evidence: The cycling of disease epidemics;the wax and wane of caribou populations; sun spot cycles; the rise and fall of the Nile. So, what about the stock market? The universe of numbers that represents the global economy. Millions of hands at work, billions of minds. A vast network, screaming with life. An organism. A natural organism. My hypothesis: Within the stock market, there is a pattern as well... Right in front of me... hiding behind the numbers. Always has been.