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From: hes@ecsvax.UUCP (Henry Schaffer)
Newsgroups: net.math
Subject: Re: a piece of folk-lore - really on randomness
Message-ID: <504@ecsvax.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 28-Sep-85 23:48:23 EDT
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Posted: Sat Sep 28 23:48:23 1985
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> Quantum physics seems to deal more with probabilities than randomness,
> since events can happen spontaneously without cause, but the event that
> occurs occurs with a certain probability.  This is not true randomness,
> since it is probability that guides what events occur.
> 
>    Scott Southard
>    

I either disagree with this distinction - or perhaps I don't understand
the point.  From a statistical point of view the possible outcomes of a
random process have probabilities of occurring, so there is no conflict
between randomness and probability.  (However, it is not correct to say
that probability "guides" the outcome, rather it describes.
--henry schaffer