Can the mind generate random numbers?

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Generating truly random numbers using the human mind is fundamentally flawed due to our inherent pattern-seeking behavior, which is influenced by past experiences and memories. The discussion highlights that while humans may produce numbers that appear random, they are often influenced by previous exposure to numbers, making them predictable. Dreams and subconscious thoughts are cited as examples of how our minds synthesize information rather than generate randomness. The conversation also touches on the potential of using natural phenomena, like atmospheric noise, for more reliable randomness in applications like encryption. Ultimately, while humans can exhibit some level of randomness, it is not truly random in the strictest sense.
  • #61
Wolfram Mathword says:

A random number is a number chosen as if by chance from some specified distribution such that selection of a large set of these numbers reproduces the underlying distribution. Almost always, such numbers are also required to be independent, so that there are no correlations between successive numbers. Computer-generated random numbers are sometimes called pseudorandom numbers, while the term "random" is reserved for the output of unpredictable physical processes. When used without qualification, the word "random" usually means "random with a uniform distribution." Other distributions are of course possible. For example, the Box-Muller transformation allows pairs of uniform random numbers to be transformed to corresponding random numbers having a two-dimensional normal distribution.
 
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  • #62
I don't think randomness is possible, in any regard. Something that seems random is merely because we are unaware of the causal history of the outcome.

Yes I am aware of quantum mechanics... I still don't believe in true randomness, I believe we have more to learn.
 

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