python & mathematical methods of picking numbers at random
Bart Nessux
bart_nessux at hotmail.com
Thu Jan 15 15:31:49 EST 2004
Paul Rubin wrote:
> Bart Nessux <bart_nessux at hotmail.com> writes:
>
>>I am using method 'a' below to pick 25 names from a pool of 225. A
>>co-worker is using method 'b' by running it 25 times and throwing out
>>the winning name (names are associated with numbers) after each run
>>and then re-counting the list and doing it all over again.
>>
>>My boss thinks that 'b' is somehow less fair than 'a',
>
>
> Both are the same, as you can see by calculating the probability of
> any given name being selected. What is the application, and the
> computer environment? You may also need to worry about correlations
> in the underlying Mersenne Twister PRNG. If the application is
> something where randomness is very important (you're picking winners
> for a big lottery or something) then you should use a better RNG.
We're raffling off crock-pots... that's why I think this is OK for our
purposes.
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