[aklug] Re: [OT] Re: random bits vs random Hex

On Tue, May 28, 2013 at 10:50 PM, Jeremy Austin <jhaustin@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On Tue, May 28, 2013 at 10:25 PM, <bryanm@acsalaska.net> wrote:
>>
>> That brings up an interesting point (which was not part of the original
>> post). What if you change to a base that doesn't match so well? For
>> example, take a random string of bits, group them into triplets, and
>> convert each one to a decimal digit.
>>
>> 001 011 000 110 111 010 010 101
>> ..1 ..3 ..0 ..6 ..7 ..2 ..2 ..5
>>
>> If the original string of bits is random, each new bit is equally likely
>> to take either of the possible states {0,1}. When converted to decimal,
>> though, each new digit is equally likely to be one of 0 through 7, but
>> it will never be 8 or 9. Whether that is useful information, of course,
>> depends on the application.
>
>
> I'm fairly certain changing the base is irrelevant. Entropy doesn't change
> with a base change; the number of possible states (i.e., base) is not a
> measurement of the entropy in a given string.

... unless a pattern is revealed by changing base (in other words, if
the original data set wasn't actually random).

--
Royce Williams
---------
To unsubscribe, send email to <aklug-request@aklug.org>
with 'unsubscribe' in the message body.