A Million Random Digits with 100,000 Normal Deviates is a 1955
bookA book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of paper, parchment, or other material, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
by the RAND Corporation. The book of tables was an important 20th century work in the field of
statisticsStatistics is a branch of mathematics concerned with collecting and interpreting data. According to other definitions, it is a mathematical science pertaining to the collection, analysis, interpretation or explanation, and presentation of data. Statisticians improve the quality of data with the...
and
random numberRandom number may refer to:* A number generated for or part of a set exhibiting statistical randomness.* A random sequence obtained from a stochastic process.* An algorithmically random sequence in algorithmic information theory....
s. It was produced starting in 1947 by an electronic simulation of a roulette wheel attached to a
computerA computer is a machine that manipulates data according to a set of instructions.Although mechanical examples of computers have existed through much of recorded human history, the first electronic computers were developed in the mid-20th century . These were the size of a large room, consuming as...
, the results of which were then carefully filtered and tested before being used to generate the table. The RAND table was an important breakthrough in delivering
random numberRandom number may refer to:* A number generated for or part of a set exhibiting statistical randomness.* A random sequence obtained from a stochastic process.* An algorithmically random sequence in algorithmic information theory....
s, because such a large and carefully prepared table had never before been available.
A Million Random Digits with 100,000 Normal Deviates is a 1955
bookA book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of paper, parchment, or other material, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
by the RAND Corporation. The book of tables was an important 20th century work in the field of
statisticsStatistics is a branch of mathematics concerned with collecting and interpreting data. According to other definitions, it is a mathematical science pertaining to the collection, analysis, interpretation or explanation, and presentation of data. Statisticians improve the quality of data with the...
and
random numberRandom number may refer to:* A number generated for or part of a set exhibiting statistical randomness.* A random sequence obtained from a stochastic process.* An algorithmically random sequence in algorithmic information theory....
s. It was produced starting in 1947 by an electronic simulation of a roulette wheel attached to a
computerA computer is a machine that manipulates data according to a set of instructions.Although mechanical examples of computers have existed through much of recorded human history, the first electronic computers were developed in the mid-20th century . These were the size of a large room, consuming as...
, the results of which were then carefully filtered and tested before being used to generate the table. The RAND table was an important breakthrough in delivering
random numberRandom number may refer to:* A number generated for or part of a set exhibiting statistical randomness.* A random sequence obtained from a stochastic process.* An algorithmically random sequence in algorithmic information theory....
s, because such a large and carefully prepared table had never before been available. In addition to being available in book form, one could also order the digits on a series of
punch cardA punch card or punched card , is a piece of stiff paper that contains digital information represented by the presence or absence of holes in predefined positions...
s.
The main use of the tables was in
statisticsStatistics is a branch of mathematics concerned with collecting and interpreting data. According to other definitions, it is a mathematical science pertaining to the collection, analysis, interpretation or explanation, and presentation of data. Statisticians improve the quality of data with the...
and the experimental design of scientific experiments, especially those which employed the
Monte Carlo methodMonte Carlo methods are a class of computational algorithms that rely on repeated random sampling to compute their results. Monte Carlo methods are often used when simulating physical and mathematical systems. Because of their reliance on repeated computation of random or pseudo-random numbers,...
; in
cryptographyCryptography is the practice and study of hiding information. Modern cryptography intersects the disciplines of mathematics, computer science, and engineering...
, they have also been used as "
nothing up my sleeve numberIn cryptography, nothing up my sleeve numbers are any numbers which, by their construction, are above suspicion of hidden properties. They are used in creating cryptographic functions such as hashes and ciphers. These algorithms often need randomized constants for mixing or initialization purposes...
s", for example in the design of the Khafre cipher. The book was one of the last of a series of random number tables produced from the mid-1920s through the 1950s, after which the development of high speed computers allowed faster operation through the generation of pseudorandom numbers rather than reading them from tables.
The book was reissued in 2001 (ISBN 0-8330-3047-7) with a new foreword by RAND Executive Vice President Michael D. Rich, which generated a small internet phenomenon when users of
Amazon.comAmazon.com, Inc. is an American-based multinational electronic commerce company. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, it is America's largest online retailer, with nearly three times the Internet sales revenue of the runner up, Staples, Inc....
posted facetious reviews of the book.
The digits and the
deviatesA standard normal deviate is a normally distributed random variable with expected value 0 and variance 1. A fuller term is standard normal random variable...
are available for free online, at:
Datafile: A Million Random Digits and
100,000 Normal Deviates.
External links