Tag: Random

In dynamic resource allocations and load balancing, one of the most well-known and fascinating algorithms is the so-called “power of two random choices,” which proposes a very simple change to the random allocations that yields exponential improvement. I was lucky enough to have implemen...

The Monte Carlo (MC) and the Temporal-Difference (TD) methods are both fundamental technics in the field of reinforcement learning; they solve the prediction problem based on the experiences from interacting with the environment rather than the environment’s model. However, the TD method is a ...

The Monte Carlo (MC) and the Temporal-Difference (TD) methods are both fundamental technics in the field of reinforcement learning; they solve the prediction problem based on the experiences from interacting with the environment rather than the environment’s model. However, the TD method is a ...

We all know the story of Superman being rocketed to Earth from the exploding planet Krypton. While baby Supes, “Kal-El”, seems blameless, his parents sure as hell aren’t. Jor-El, Superman’s father, must have been an idiot of the first degree. First off, he discovers that t...

Imagine this scenario: you’re a high-school student and you decide to attend an exhibit that houses horrible poisonous spiders and radiation generators. Hey, that right there must be Fun ‘N Good Times City. I know I’d be the first in line to buy an admission ticket t...

At first blush this is a remarkable assertion. Our faith in democracy is shaken when elections dangle on the vagaries of a hanging chad. Or settled precedent is abruptly overturned by a partisan court. We are justifiably outraged when innocence depends on on zip code. Or the latest twitter meme. ...

It’s the midst of the semester. Everything is on the track and there is no room for the packed schedule. Sick and tired of the daily routine, I decided to spare some time, look around, and try to do something new, something opposite. That’s why I started this series: motivate me to do so...

Paintings in The Museum of Life With the weather cooling from the heat of summer, I love spending time on my beco’s bench. I sit there working on my laptop or watching random people hike up the hill in search of the popular viewpoint above. Most of all, I love getting to play with Gra&ccedi...

I leaned up against the bar, elbows resting on the sticky surface — like a scene from Pulp Fiction — while I scanned the dim room. It was buzzing in every shadowy nook and cranny. A sea of gay men — mostly shirtless — looked back at me as if I were a sunflower in a rice paddy...

A random variable, usually written X, is a variable whose possible values are numerical outcomes of a random phenomenon. The difference between a random variable and a probability is that a random variable is a possible value that the target phenomenon takes, and a probability is an assigned va...

Java’s java.util.UUID represents an immutable universally unique identifier (UUID). In particular the static randomUUID() method of this class generates UUID which can be used as a unique identifier in distributed systems. But, is this UUID unique ? What are the chances tha...

Recently I’ve assisted with implementing some logic in Java that could easily be achieved with a single call of Numpy’s random.choice. It ended up being one of those tasks that allow looking into things you’re using every day but never have time to fully understand how they wo...

From drug discovery to species classification, credit scoring to cybersecurity and more, the random forest is a popular and powerful algorithm for modeling our complex world. Its versatility and predictive prowess would seem to require cutting-edge complexity, but ...

Bernoulli random variable (RV) is one of the most basic discreet random variable. I intent to recall this RV along with the Binomial Random Variable (RV). I assume that you already know what a discreet random variable (RV) is. Let us begin! Bernoulli RV A Bernoulli RV is either 0 or 1. It ...

Man is a social animal. Women too, I hasten to add! And communication — signs, verbal and written — is the very foundation of society. However, its proper or improper use makes it a boon or a bane! Many of you have heard me quote Rumi at every opportunity “Between what is said...