“A Million Random Digits”—contain mysterious errors. New Method of Producing Random Numbers. A Million Random Digits THE SEQUEL: with Perfectly Uniform Distribution. Why are countries creating public random number generators?

 

“Soul crushing.” An engineer discovers that numbers in a revered 65-year-old book—“A Million Random Digits”—contain mysterious errors.

WSJ.COM

‘A Million Random Digits’ Was a Number-Cruncher’s Bible. Now One Has Exposed Flaws in the Disorder.

2020.9.25

***

Why are countries creating public random number generators?

By Sophia ChenJun. 28, 2018 , 12:00 PM

In Chile, politicians resent the Comptroller General, which audits government officials to prevent corruption. The audits are supposed to be random—but scrutinized officials sometimes complain about unfair targeting. "The auditors have to convince the public they're doing their work honestly," says Alejandro Hevia, a computer scientist at the University of Chile in Santiago. Along with researchers around the world, he is developing technology that could persuade critics that audits are truly random: public random number generators.

On 10 July, Hevia's team will unveil an online random number service. Later in July, the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will launch its Randomness Beacon as a permanent service, upgrading a pilot program that began in 2013. Brazil, too, is planning a beacon, by the end of 2019. All aim to improve on commercial random number generators, not only by being free, but by generating the random numbers through transparent protocols and permanently archiving them. The services could benefit everyday applications such as cryptography and lotteries—and also research. Some scientific simulation methods rely on random numbers, and clinicians could use them in drug trials to fairly assign who gets a treatment or placebo.

"We want to put randomness on the internet for people to use in whatever way they can find," says Rene Peralta, a computer scientist at NIST in Gaithersburg, Maryland, who leads the U.S. effort. "I think of it as digital infrastructure."

***2016.5.29

A Million Random Digits THE SEQUEL: with Perfectly Uniform Distribution [Paperback] David Dubowski (Author)
Finally, after 56 years the saga continues! Here is the next book of random numbers, pseudorandom actually, this time generated purely by mathematics. The familiar table form continues, but this set has perfectly uniform distribution. Using the Pi Crust Shuffler algorithm, a modern PC quietly churned out these 400 pages of delightful digits, ready for action in the real world. Any math lover would be delighted to receive this book as a gift! The algorithm's BASIC source code is included.


These Amazon Products Are No Joke, But the Online Reviews Are
Whether on Books About Random Digits Or Toilet Seats, Everybody's a Comedian
By MICHAEL M. PHILLIPS
What is it about the book "A Million Random Digits With 100,000 Normal Deviates" that brings out the wiseguy in people?

Smart-aleck customers are flexing their comedy muscles on Amazon, with snarky reviews and silly photos of products like banana slicers and fresh whole rabbit. WSJ's Michael M. Phillips reports.

Rand Corp.'s 600-page paperback, which delivers exactly what it promises, sells for $64.60 on Amazon.com AMZN -2.20% . Yet 400 people have submitted online Amazon reviews, most of them mocking the 60-year-old reference book for mathematicians, pollsters and lottery administrators.
"Almost perfect," said one reviewer. "But with so many terrific random digits, it's a shame they didn't sort them, to make it easier to find the one you're looking for."
Five stars from this commenter: "[T]he first thing I thought to myself after reading chapter one was, 'Look out, Harry Potter!' "
Several reviewers complained that while most of the numbers in the book appeared satisfactorily random, the pages themselves were in numerical order.

Enlarge Image

Amazon's online superstore has become the unlikely stage for 21st-century amateur comedy, where thousands of customers have submitted reviews for products ranging from the self-explanatory explanatory book "How to Avoid Huge Ships" to the Hutzler 571 banana slicer, a yellow plastic banana-shaped device that cuts bananas into even slices.
Rand said its long list of random numbers, first published in 1955, is one of its all-time best sellers. "It's a tool of some sort, but it's beyond my clear understanding," a Rand spokesman admitted.
One Amazon reviewer panned a real-life copycat publication called "A Million Random Digits THE SEQUEL: with Perfectly Uniform Distribution." "Let's be honest, 4735942 is just a rehashed version of 64004382, and 32563233 is really nothing more than 97132654 with an accent."
"We are always amazed by the creativity of our customers," said an Amazon spokeswoman...

 more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323528404578454763919379102.html?mod=djemITPE_h


-----

New Method of Producing Random Numbers Could Improve ...

news.utexas.edu/2016/.../computer-science-breakthrough-could-improve-cybersecurit...

May 16, 2016 - Computer science professor David Zuckerman and graduate student Eshan Chattopadhyay will present research about their method in June at ...

Academics Make Theoretical Breakthrough in Random Number ...

https://threatpost.com/academics-make-theoretical-breakthrough...random.../118150/

May 17, 2016 - David Zuckerman, a computer science professor, and Eshan Chattopadhyay, a graduate student, published a paper in March that will be ...

隨機亂數生成演算法獲突破 五月 28, 2016 (photo by James Bowe)


本文來自於 sciencenews.org《New technique produces real randomness》，36氪翻譯

隨機亂數在軟體的應用非常廣泛。比如說抽獎程式就是一下能想到的應用之一。但是在一些更加重要的應用當中隨機亂數也發揮著重要的作用，比如加密敏感訊息、對地球天氣等複雜系統建模以及數據的公正採樣等都離不開隨機亂數。

不過電腦生成隨機亂數要比擲骰子困難得多，而且那些隨機亂數實際上並不是完全不可預測的，而是在隨機種子的基礎上結合演算法自動生成的「數」，這些「數」實際上是可複製的，算不上真正的隨機（偽隨機亂數）。所以隨機亂數的隨機性問題是基礎演算法面臨的一大難題。

不過最近德州大學的兩位電腦科學家 Eshan Chattopadhyay 和 David Zuckerman 開發出了一種改進的隨機抽樣器，這種算法只需要兩種隨機性不強的來源即可生成真正隨機的數字，被認為是基礎算法取得的一大突破。

一般的隨機算法為了提高隨機性會在演算法中引入環境的隨機性，比如滑鼠或鍵盤的位置等。電腦會採樣若干時間點的滑鼠位置然後轉化為一串數字。但這仍然算不上真正的隨機，比如前一刻滑鼠位置如果是在螢幕左側的話，下一刻滑鼠跑到右側的可能性是很低的。因此這樣生成的隨機亂數序列仍然具有相關性的，或者是可能會偏向特定值的。也就是說，這種隨機性還是很弱。

而隨機抽取器則是通過這些隨機性較弱的來源來發掘隨機性。用 MIT 電腦科學家 Dana Moshkovitz 的話來說，隨機性是一種資源，獲取隨機性的過程就像是挖金礦一樣—先開採礦石，然後排沙篩金。

而兩位科學家的算法是對隨機抽樣器的改進。這種隨機抽取器將兩種獨立的弱隨機亂數來源組合為一個接近隨機的集合，並且只有細微偏差。然後再利用彈性函數（一種訊息組合方法）將一串數字轉化為真正的隨機位 —1 或 0。

利用彈性函數進行訊息組合可以防止偏差的出現。比方說在大選裡面，一些蓄意的投票者有可能會把結果引向想要的方向。但彈性函數可以保護誠實的投票者。因為它不是選取簡單多數，而是先把數據分成 3 組，然後選取每組中的多數，再把選出來的數分成 3 組然後再抽取每組中的多數，以此類推直到最後。這種做法使得選舉可以容忍大量盲點的存在，而在隨機亂數生成方面，這種做法可以把偏差數過濾掉。

跟以往需要接近隨機輸入的隨機抽取器相比，這種新的辦法正是通過在隨機性非常非常弱的來源當中「淘金」來挖掘真正的隨機亂數，從而實現了隨機性的實質性改進，其結果已經接近於理想情況。對於加密、複雜系統模擬等應用來說，這是一個非常好的消息。



The technical details are described in the academics’ paper “Explicit Two-Source Extractors and Resilient Functions.” The academics’ introduction of resilient functions into their new algorithm built on numerous previous works to arrive at landmark moment in theoretical computer science. Already, one other leading designer of randomness extractors, Xin Li, has built on their work to create sequences of many more random numbers.

See more at: Academics Make Theoretical Breakthrough in Random Number Generation https://wp.me/p3AjUX-uJE

兩名負責波音737 MAX飛機研發的高管為設計流程辯護。Boeing expects 737 Max crisis to cost $18.6bn. Report Defends 'Thorough Work' In Certifying Boeing 737 Max — But Suggests Changes

--2020.9.14

兩名負責波音737 MAX飛機研發的高管為設計流程辯護

兩名負責波音公司737 MAX飛機研發的高管對眾議院調查人員表示，儘管發生了兩起致命墜機事件，但波音公司的設計流程並無缺陷，這番表態與該公司其他高管承認過去的工程設計失誤的態度形成了鮮明對比。

---2020.1.29



Boeing has placed the total cost of the 737 Max crisis at more than double its previous estimate.

Aircraft maker logged its first annual loss in more than two decades amid fallout from grounding

FT.COM

Boeing expects 737 Max crisis to cost $18.6bn


***

NATIONAL

Report Defends 'Thorough Work' In Certifying Boeing 737 Max — But Suggests Changes

Amid difficult questions about the steps taken by Boeing and regulators, the review commissioned by the Department of Transportation largely validated the process that put the jetliner in the air.

A pair of Boeing 737 Max 8 jetliners plummeted from the sky in 2018 and 2019, killing hundreds of passengers and eventually prompting officials to ground the aircraft model worldwide — but the process that allowed the craft in the air in the first place is generally sound, according to a review commissioned by U.S. regulators.

An independent committee established by the Department of Transportation published its findings in a 68-page report Thursday. (Skip down to read the whole report.) And broadly, the group found the certification process laid out by the Federal Aviation Administration to be effective, with some changes needed for improvement.

"What we saw was a thorough work by aviation professionals," one of the two co-chairs, former Air Line Pilots Association President Lee Moak, told journalists on a conference call explaining the findings. Together with retired Air Force Gen. Darren McDew, Moak oversaw a five-member panel with a mix of transportation industry executives and former regulators.

"However," Moak added, "we saw where you could improve the system."

Among their recommendations for the FAA:

• Extend the requirement for Safety Management Systems, or formal, structured programs for risk management. The FAA already requires them for airlines and airports, but the committee recommended applying the mandate to "design and manufacturing organizations," too.
• Do a better job gathering, analyzing and easing access to aviation data.
• Improve collaboration with the FAA's counterparts in other countries.
• Reevaluate and bolster the workforce, including "an aggressive recruitment campaign to encourage students to pursue careers at the FAA."

Article continues after sponsor message

What was not among its recommendations was any significant adjustment to the FAA's Organization Designation Authorization, a program by which the agency can delegate elements of its certification process to certain approved private individuals or companies. The program drew controversy last year when lawmakers questioned how Boeing ended up being responsible for reviewing changes to its own design on the 737 Max.

"Safety experts have long raised concerns that the [ODA] program leaves the fox in charge of the henhouse," Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., wrote in a letter to the Department of Transportation last March, just days after the FAA grounded the Max.

"In short," he added, "the staff responsible for regulating aircraft safety are answerable to the manufacturers who profit from cutting corners, not the American people who may be put at risk."

Further concern surfaced last week with the revelation that Boeing employees had mocked the FAA in internal messages and gloated about the ease with which the plane was approved. "This airplane," read one note about the craft, which would later be involved in the deaths of 346 people, "is designed by clowns who in turn are supervised by monkeys."

The mother of a victim of the Ethiopian Airlines crash, which killed scores of passengers last year, bears a sign representing the dead passengers before a congressional hearing on the Boeing 737 Max 8 back in June.

Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

But in its review, the panel found no evidence that the outcome of the certification process would have been different if the FAA had not delegated some of the steps.

"The FAA's delegation system is an appropriate and effective tool for conducting aircraft certification," the committee concluded in the executive summary of its report. "It relies on effective standards, oversight and communication between stakeholders."

NATIONAL

As New CEO Takes Charge, Boeing's Challenges Remain

BUSINESS

Boeing Employees Mocked FAA In Internal Messages Before 737 Max Disasters

The review isn't the first to be compiled since the aircraft was grounded. Last October, an FAA-commissioned panel known as the Joint Authorities Technical Review lambasted both the agency and Boeing for failing to properly evaluate the new automated flight control system that directly caused the crashes.

The Justice Department and Transportation Department's Office of Inspector General also are investigating the Boeing plane's certification.

The airline manufacturing giant — now helmed by CEO David Calhoun after Dennis Muilenburg stepped down from the post last month — responded to Thursday's report with gratitude and a commitment to take its findings seriously.

"We will study these recommendations closely," a company spokesperson said in a brief statement, "as we continue to work with government and industry stakeholders to enhance the certification process."

The FAA also welcomed the report's findings.

"I was pleased to see that the committee recommended we advance the use of Safety Management Systems throughout all sectors of the aviation industry," Administrator Steve Dickson said in a statement released by the FAA.

"The agency will carefully consider the committee's work, along with the recommendations identified in various investigative reports and other analyses, as we take steps to enhance our aircraft certification processes."

Read the full report

"新經濟領域" (歐洲股市)：科技、軟體、半導體、電信、媒體、零售、醫療保健與製藥

 

相較於以往而言，歐洲股市看起來與科技股權重較大的納斯達克指數更像了。但表面現象可能具有欺騙性。 投資者正密切關注是否會出現一種完形轉換(Gestalt switch)。根據美銀美林(Bank of America Merrill Lynch) 8月份對基金經理的調查，投資者當時已在質疑為數不多的科技巨頭還能帶領美國股市上漲多久，並已開始將持倉轉向海外標的，尋找下一批表現出色的個股。 歐洲斯托克600指數今年以來已累計下跌12%，而標普500指數累計上漲3%。其原因在於，歐洲市場上的銀行、汽車和能源公司等“舊經濟”板塊占比較大，在歐洲斯托克600指數中，科技、電信和醫療保健等“新經濟”板塊占比僅30%左右.。而在美國股市上，這一比例超過60%。 但摩根士丹利(Morgan Stanley)的分析師最近在給客戶的一份報告中表示：“實際情況正發生變化。”在歐洲股市上，新經濟領域股票的比重正加速上升。在涵蓋範圍較窄的歐元區斯托克50指數中，科技股現在是最大的類股。對於青睞成長型股票的投資者來說，這可能成為已超買的納斯達克以外的另一個替代選項嗎？ 並非如此。首先，這種以新經濟板塊為方向的調整主要源於新冠疫情危機對傳統行業類股市值的嚴重破壞。直到今年1月份，成長型股票在歐洲MSCI明晟指數中的比重多年來一直沒有變化。 歐洲市場前景真正改善的一個信號將是，該地區新經濟類股的表現增強，而非舊經濟類股的表現變差。然而，歐洲科技股2020年以來以及過去十年間的表現都遜於美國科技股。 在疫情發生之前，歐洲兩大科技巨擘——企業軟件巨頭SAP SE和半導體設備製造商艾司摩爾公司(ASML Holding NV)——的增長前景就已遠遜於Netflix Inc. (NFLX)和亞馬遜公司(Amazon.com Inc., AMZN)。新冠疫情給網購和線上娛樂消費帶來永久性提振的可能性進一步拉大了這種差距。阿姆斯特丹或許有一些前途光明的初創企業，但美國和中國的大型科技公司還不需要有太多擔心。 相較於估值可能過高的美國巨頭而言，歐洲科技公司總體來看也不便宜：美國和歐洲新經濟公司的市盈率都已經比較高了。 當然，如果投資者繼續拋售矽谷公司股票，或者尋找新冠疫苗的進程出現加速，那麼相對於美國股市而言，歐洲股市剛開始的反彈很可能會持續下去。不過，在這種情境下，推動歐洲股市上漲的將是對舊經濟板塊最終將得以喘口氣的預期，從而在客觀上再次提升舊經濟板塊的相對權重。 從長遠來看，一個地區相對於另一個地區的繁榮程度，在很大程度上取決於該地區關鍵的特長行業的增長潛力。到目前為止，歐洲最近在這方面取得的進展還只是數字層面的海市蜃樓。如果投資者需要為短期內向該地區投入更多資金找一個理由，那就是容易被炒作的歐洲科技類股走勢相對疲軟，而不是因為歐洲科技股出現了任何新的走強勢頭。

Boeing discloses new flaw with 787 jet as problems mount. FAA對"波音夢想飛機"可能長達近10年的質量控制疏漏展開調查

Boeing: The U.S. aviation giant said Tuesday that it expected deliveries of its 787 Dreamliner to be delayed as it and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration look into quality-control concerns with the wide-body jet. The plane’s relative fuel efficiency has made it popular with All Nippon Airways, United Airlines, Japan Airlines, American Airlines, Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways and Air Canada.

The company disclosed a new problem with the manufacturing of its 787 Dreamliner that will put a further crimp in its aircraft deliveries







CNN.COM


Boeing discloses new flaw with 787 jet as problems mount


FAA對波音夢想飛機可能長達近10年的質量控制疏漏展開調查



根據一份政府內部備忘錄和知情人士透露的消息，波音公司旗下一家787夢想飛機工廠的生產問題，已促使航空安全監管機構對其可能長達近10年的質量控制疏漏進行調查。


What is so special about Boeing 787 Dreamliner?


The airplane's unparalleled fuel efficiency and range flexibility enables carriers to profitably open new routes as well as optimize fleet and network performance. And for their passengers, an experience like none other in the air, with more comfort and less fatigue. The Dreamliner effect. That's a better way to fly.





So the only way the board of directors would sign off on the Dreamliner was to spread the risk among a global chain of suppliers. In December 2003, they agreed to take on half of the estimated $10 billion development cost.


The plan backfired as production problems quickly surfaced.


“I saw total chaos. Boeing bit off more than it could chew,” said Larry Caracciolo, an engineer who spent three years managing 787 supplier quality.


First, there were problems with the moulding of the new plastics. Then parts made by different suppliers didn't fit properly. For instance, the nose-and-cockpit section was out of alignment with the rest of the plane, leaving a 0.3-inch gap.


By giving up control of its supply chain, Boeing had lost the ability to oversee each step of production. Problems sometimes weren't discovered until the parts came together at its Everett, Wash., plant.


Fixes weren't easy, and cultures among the suppliers often clashed.


“It seemed like the Italians only worked three days a week. They were always on vacation. And the Japanese, they worked six days a week,” said Jack Al-Kahwati, a former Boeing structural weight engineer.


Even simple conversations between Boeing employees and those from the suppliers working in-house in Everett weren't so simple. Because of government regulations controlling the export of defence-related technology, any talks with international suppliers had to take place in designated conference rooms. Each country had its own, separate space for conversations.


There were also deep fears, especially among veteran Boeing workers, that “we were giving up all of our trade secrets to the Japanese and that they would be our competition in 10 years,” Al-Kahwati said.


As the project fell further behind schedule, pressure mounted. It became increasingly clear that delivery deadlines wouldn't be met.


Each success, no matter how small, was celebrated. The first delivery of a new part or the government certification of an engine would lead to a gathering in one of the engineering building atriums. Banners were hung and commemorative cards – like baseball cards – or coins were handed out.


Those working on the plane brought home a constant stream of trinkets: hats, Frisbees, 787 M&Ms, travel mugs, plane-shaped chocolates, laser pointers and lapel pins. Many of the items can now be found for sale on eBay.


“It kept you going because there was this underlying suspicion that we weren't going to hit these targets that they were setting,” said Matt Henson, who spent five and a half years as an engineer on the project.


The world got its first glimpse of the Dreamliner on July 8, 2007. The date was chosen not because of some production milestone but for public relations value. It was, after all, 7/8/7.


Tom Brokaw served as the master of ceremonies at an event that drew 15,000 people. The crowd was in awe.


It was “beyond experiencing a rock star on stage,” said Dressler, a former Boeing designer. “This thing is so sexy, between the paint job and the lines and the fact that it's here now and you can touch it.”


But like so much of show business, the plane was just a prop. It lacked most flight controls. Parts of the fuselage were temporarily fastened together just for the event. Some savvy observers noted that bolt heads were sticking out from the aircraft's composite skin.


Boeing CEO Jim McNerney told the crowd that the plane would fly within two months.


Instead, the company soon announced the first of what would be many delays. It would be more than two years before the plane's first test flight.


To overcome production problems, Boeing replaced executives and bought several of the suppliers to gain greater control. Work continued at breakneck pace.


“We were competing against time. We were competing against the deadline of delivering the first airplane,” said Roman Sherbak, who spent four years on the project.


Then on a cold, overcast morning in December 2009, it all came together.


A crowd gathered at Paine Field, the airport adjacent to Boeing's factory. The Dreamliner climbed deftly into the sky for a three-hour test flight.


But there were still plenty of glitches, including an onboard fire during a November 2010 test flight. Smoke had entered the cabin from an electronics panel in the rear of the plane. The fleet was grounded for six weeks. This month's safety problems appear unrelated.


Deliveries were pushed back yet again.


Passengers wouldn't first step aboard the plane until Oct. 26, 2011, three and a half years after Boeing first promised.


That first, four-hour journey – from Tokyo to Hong Kong – was more of a party than a flight. Passengers posed for photos as they climbed stairs into the jet. Alcohol flowed freely. Boeing executives were on hand, showing off the plane's new features. Everybody, it seemed, needed to use the bathroom if only to check out the bidet and giant window inside.


More airlines started to fly the plane. Each new route was met with celebration. Travelers shifted itineraries to catch a ride on the new plane.


Boeing had hoped by the end of 2013 to double production of the Dreamliner to 10 planes a month. There are 799 unfilled orders for the plane, which carries a $206.8 million list price, although airlines often negotiate deep discounts.


Then, this month, all the progress came to a jarring halt.


First, a battery ignited on a Japan Airlines 787 shortly after it landed at Boston's Logan International Airport. Passengers had already left the plane, but it took firefighters 40 minutes to put out the blaze.


Problems also popped up on other planes. There were fuel and oil leaks, a cracked cockpit window and a computer glitch that erroneously indicated a brake problem.


Then a 787 flown by Japan's All Nippon Airways made an emergency landing after pilots learned of battery problems and detected a burning smell. Both Japanese airlines grounded their Dreamliner fleets. The FAA, which just days earlier insisted that the plane was safe, did the same for U.S. planes.


Each new aircraft comes with problems. The A380 had its own glitches, including an in-flight engine explosion that damaged fuel and hydraulic lines and the landing flaps. But the unique nature of the 787 worries regulators.


American and Japanese investigators have yet to determine the cause of the problems, and the longer the 787 stays grounded, the more money Boeing must pay airlines in penalties.


“It's been a very expensive process, and it's not going to let up anytime soon,” said Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace analyst with the Teal Group. “At this point, the aircraft still looks very promising. I don't think anybody is talking about cancelling orders but people are nervous about the schedule.”


As investigators try to figure out the cause of the plane's latest problems the world finds itself in a familiar position with the Dreamliner: waiting.

---

製程強調組裝容易： put together quick.
Time-lapse: Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner being assembled and painted

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiH3-rJ-iYc




這次停9架，請能檢查機體的焊接強度？
Construction of composite fuselage section of a Boeing 787







---















Boeing 787 Dreamliner


Status

In service


Primary users

All Nippon Airways Japan Airlines American Airlines United Airlines


Produced

2007–present


Number built

977 through July 2020