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

On Wed, May 29, 2013 8:31 am, Doug Davey wrote:
> Nope, any decent algorithm won't even be able to tell the difference
> between bases. Entropy isn't changed by how you view the data. And random
> numbers are the bane of compression algorithms, but yes, they look for such
> patterns.

I don't know enough to address entropy, but I can say that changing
from binary triplets to decimal digits leaves some of the pattern space
unused (i.e. 8 and 9). In other words, the same data takes up more space,
leaving open the possibility for an algorithm to compress it back to close
to its original size.

Of course, changing from decimal triplets to octal gives exactly the same
representation of the data; the only difference is what you consider the
possible values of each element to be.

--
Bryan Medsker
bryanm@acsalaska.net
---------
To unsubscribe, send email to <aklug-request@aklug.org>
with 'unsubscribe' in the message body.