On statistical methods to test if sampling in trials is genuinely random

摘要

Humans are not good at identifying randomness: our minds naturally look for patterns, even when there are none. Furthermore, we are poor at creating random data. Famously, as a result of listener complaints, the first iPod 'shuffle function' had to be changed to make it less random, but appear more random to the human ear (see http://electronics.howstuffworks.com /ipod-shuffle2.htm).