From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
randomness
n 1: (thermodynamics) a thermodynamic quantity representing the
amount of energy in a system that is no longer available
for doing mechanical work; "entropy increases as matter and
energy in the universe degrade to an ultimate state of
inert uniformity" [syn: {randomness}, {entropy}, {S}]
2: the quality of lacking any predictable order or plan [syn:
{randomness}, {haphazardness}, {stochasticity}, {noise}]
From The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003) [jargon]:
randomness
n.
1. An inexplicable misfeature; gratuitous inelegance.
2. A {hack} or {crock} that depends on a complex combination of
coincidences (or, possibly, the combination upon which the crock depends
for its accidental failure to malfunction). ?This hack can output
characters 40--57 by putting the character in the four-bit accumulator
field of an XCT and then extracting six bits ? the low 2 bits of the XCT
opcode are the right thing.? ?What randomness!?
3. Of people, synonymous with flakiness. The connotation is that the person
so described is behaving weirdly, incompetently, or inappropriately for
reasons which are (a) too tiresome to bother inquiring into, (b) are
probably as inscrutable as quantum phenomena anyway, and (c) are likely to
pass with time. ?Maybe he has a real complaint, or maybe it's just
randomness. See if he calls back.?
Despite the negative connotations of most jargon uses of this term have, it
is worth noting that randomness can actually be a valuable resource, very
useful for applications in cryptography and elsewhere. Computers are so
thoroughly deterministic that they have a hard time generating high-quality
randomness, so hackers have sometimes felt the need to built
special-purpose contraptions for this purpose alone. One well-known website
offers random bits generated by radioactive decay. Another derives random
bits from chaotic systems in analog electronics. Originally, the latter
site got its random bits by doing photometry on lava lamps. Hackers
invariably found this hilarious. If you have to ask why, you'll never get
it.)
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