What is Random

Randomness is a slippery term that conveys different meanings in different disciplines. In mathematics, an individual number is random when there is an equal chance for it to be any number from a set of possible values. In computer science the term becomes more relative and numbers have varying degrees of pseudo-randomness. Information theory equates randomness with unpredictability and, at odds with other definitions, concludes that a higher level of randomness indicates a greater concentration of information; a message’s probable denseness of information is highest when the message is partially surprising and partially expected.There is no fixed definition for what randomness means in art, but analogies can be drawn to how the term is used in other fields. For example, information theory’s definition might suggest that artworks have the greatest impact when using a mixture of pattern and unpredictability.