randomness

/ˈrændəmnɪs/

/ˈrændəmnɪs/

Randomness is the quality of having no apparent order. If you want a really good password that no one can hack, you want a lot of randomness in it — no numbers or words that clearly pertain to your life.

The word random comes from an old French word for running (from the time before perfect oval running tracks). So randomness is like the quality of running all over the place. If you want to conduct a survey of vegetable shoppers, you’ll want to insure a degree of randomness by interviewing shoppers at all different markets, not just the fancy health food store.

Definitions of randomness

1. noun

   the quality of lacking any predictable order or plan
   synonyms: haphazardness, noise, stochasticity

   types:

   ergodicity

   an attribute of stochastic systems; generally, a system that tends in probability to a limiting form that is independent of the initial conditions

   type of:

   irregularity, unregularity

   not characterized by a fixed principle or rate; at irregular intervals
2. noun

   (thermodynamics) a thermodynamic quantity representing the amount of energy in a system that is no longer available for doing mechanical work
   synonyms: S, entropy

   types:

   conformational entropy

   entropy calculated from the probability that a state could be reached by chance alone

   type of:

   physical property

   any property used to characterize matter and energy and their interactions