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Re: [OT] Compression of random binary data

From Tim Delaney <timothy.c.delaney@gmail.com>
Newsgroups comp.lang.python
Subject Re: [OT] Compression of random binary data
Date 2016-07-14 08:39 +1000
Message-ID <mailman.50.1468449591.21009.python-list@python.org> (permalink)
References (6 earlier) <960e3589-00c9-4f71-97b1-2ffed104436f@googlegroups.com> <0502ae4a-e368-4552-4941-81c4584b57dc@gmail.com> <mailman.44.1468436625.21009.python-list@python.org> <87a8hlz5yj.fsf@elektro.pacujo.net> <CAN8CLg=GcYzHn5ieaF-Zp2QVRkgscC4xHPMBHPDt6H8zZDbc6A@mail.gmail.com>

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On 14 July 2016 at 05:35, Marko Rauhamaa <marko@pacujo.net> wrote:

> Michael Torrie <torriem@gmail.com>:
> > If the data is truly random then it does not matter whether you have 5
> > bytes or 5 GB. There is no pattern to discern, and having more chunks
> > of random data won't make it possible to compress.
>
> That's true if "truly random" means "evenly distributed". You might have
> genuine random numbers with some other distribution, for example
> Gaussian: <URL: https://www.random.org/gaussian-distributions/>. Such
> sequences of random numbers may well be compressible.
>

No one is saying that *all* random data is incompressible - in fact, some
random samples are *very* compressible. A single sample of random data
might look very much like the text of "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
(especially if your method of choosing the random sample was to pick a book
off a library shelf).

But unless otherwise qualified, a claim of being able to compress random
data is taken to mean any and all sets of random data.

Anyway, that's going to be my only contribution to this thread.

Tim Delaney

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Thread

Compression of random binary data jonas.thornvall@gmail.com - 2016-07-11 10:52 -0700
  Re: Compression of random binary data Joonas Liik <liik.joonas@gmail.com> - 2016-07-11 21:09 +0300
    Re: Compression of random binary data jonas.thornvall@gmail.com - 2016-07-11 11:24 -0700
      Re: Compression of random binary data jonas.thornvall@gmail.com - 2016-07-11 11:32 -0700
  Re: Compression of random binary data MRAB <python@mrabarnett.plus.com> - 2016-07-11 19:30 +0100
  Re: Compression of random binary data Steven D'Aprano <steve@pearwood.info> - 2016-07-12 04:38 +1000
    Re: Compression of random binary data jonas.thornvall@gmail.com - 2016-07-12 07:24 -0700
      Re: Compression of random binary data Steven D'Aprano <steve@pearwood.info> - 2016-07-13 01:11 +1000
        Re: Compression of random binary data jonas.thornvall@gmail.com - 2016-07-12 10:35 -0700
          Re: Compression of random binary data Ian Kelly <ian.g.kelly@gmail.com> - 2016-07-12 16:23 -0600
            Re: Compression of random binary data jonas.thornvall@gmail.com - 2016-07-12 17:43 -0700
            Re: Compression of random binary data jonas.thornvall@gmail.com - 2016-07-12 17:47 -0700
          Re: Compression of random binary data Steven D'Aprano <steve@pearwood.info> - 2016-07-13 12:29 +1000
            Re: Compression of random binary data jonas.thornvall@gmail.com - 2016-07-13 02:46 -0700
              Re: Compression of random binary data Steven D'Aprano <steve@pearwood.info> - 2016-07-13 23:11 +1000
              Re: [OT] Compression of random binary data Michael Torrie <torriem@gmail.com> - 2016-07-13 13:03 -0600
                Re: [OT] Compression of random binary data Marko Rauhamaa <marko@pacujo.net> - 2016-07-13 22:35 +0300
                Re: [OT] Compression of random binary data Tim Delaney <timothy.c.delaney@gmail.com> - 2016-07-14 08:39 +1000
              Re: [OT] Compression of random binary data Grant Edwards <grant.b.edwards@gmail.com> - 2016-07-13 19:34 +0000
            Re: Compression of random binary data jonas.thornvall@gmail.com - 2016-07-13 03:04 -0700
              Re: Compression of random binary data jonas.thornvall@gmail.com - 2016-07-13 03:14 -0700
              Re: Compression of random binary data Steven D'Aprano <steve@pearwood.info> - 2016-07-13 22:13 +1000
  Re: Compression of random binary data Nobody <nobody@nowhere.invalid> - 2016-07-11 19:56 +0100
  Re: Compression of random binary data MRAB <python@mrabarnett.plus.com> - 2016-07-11 19:57 +0100
  Re: Compression of random binary data Terry Reedy <tjreedy@udel.edu> - 2016-07-11 15:31 -0400
  Re: Compression of random binary data Michael Selik <michael.selik@gmail.com> - 2016-07-12 00:36 +0000
  Re: Compression of random binary data Lawrence D’Oliveiro <lawrencedo99@gmail.com> - 2016-07-11 20:01 -0700
    Re: Compression of random binary data jonas.thornvall@gmail.com - 2016-07-12 07:29 -0700
      Re: Compression of random binary data Steven D'Aprano <steve@pearwood.info> - 2016-07-13 01:17 +1000
        Re: Compression of random binary data jonas.thornvall@gmail.com - 2016-07-12 10:46 -0700
          Re: Compression of random binary data Michael Torrie <torriem@gmail.com> - 2016-07-12 12:20 -0600
            Re: Compression of random binary data jonas.thornvall@gmail.com - 2016-07-12 12:31 -0700
            Re: Compression of random binary data jonas.thornvall@gmail.com - 2016-07-12 12:40 -0700
              Re: Compression of random binary data jonas.thornvall@gmail.com - 2016-07-12 12:42 -0700
      Re: Compression of random binary data mm0fmf <none@invalid.com> - 2016-07-12 17:32 +0100

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