1975, Gregory Chaitin, "Randomness and Mathematical Proof", Scientific American, (232), May 1975, pp. 47–52, reprinted in Information, Randomness & Incompleteness: Papers on Algorithmic Information Theory
Tossing a coin is a classical procedure for producing a random number .... Tossing a coin 20 times can produce any one of 2²⁰ ... binary series, and each of them has exactly the same probability.

A random number is a precisely defined mathematical concept in which every number should have an equal likeliness of occurrence....

To randomize the selection process, a random number from 1 to 50 should be used ... This could be done, for example, by using the last two digits of the serial number on a dollar bill. If those digits were 87, subtract 50, leaving 37.

The generation of random numbers is too important to be left to chance.

Random number

Meaning

Noun