Are you convinced that the shuffle mode on your iPod is messing with your mind? Or that certain numbers are bound to come up in the next lottery? If yes, you may be holding on to some serious ...

Ask a designer or artist if any aspect of their process is random. The answer will likely reveal a complex relationship between human cognition, digital media, authorship, and even conceptions of ...

Random chance mechanics in video games can be frustrating. Missing a 90% shot in XCOM, when you really need it to hit, can cause some players to throw their controller or rage quit. But not all ...

In the real world, probability is a tough thing to characterize. If I roll a die, what does it mean to say that it has a one-sixth chance of coming up 5? We say that the outcome is random because we ...

Physical theories enable us to make predictions. We can ask ‘what would happen if …’ and reason about the answer, even in scenarios that would be virtually impossible to set up in reality 2. Each ...

Researchers have uncovered deep connections among different types of random objects, illuminating hidden geometric structures. These are not the kinds of objects that concern Scott Sheffield.