Welcome to the Randomness Module.
This website explores randomness and some key facets that may contribute to randomness misconception. Headphones are recommended for some exercises and pair/group discussions are encouraged.
In Ancient Greece, thunderstorms were sometimes thought to be the Gods expressing their anger. Underwater volcanic activity could create pockets of air that would sink pirate ships but be explained as the wrath of the kraken. Elsewhere, earthquakes would sometimes be explained by terrifying monsters causing havoc. Historically, people would attribute more tangible things to random events to help them explain their experiences. Maybe, there are examples of this in your culture? Talk with your peers about possible connections between random phenomenon and folklore, myths, and legends.
We still have a lot of trouble understanding randomness today. And, while we tend to have a better understanding of the events we experience, there are still many misconceptions around randomness.
In this module, you will find activities on identifying flaws in definitions of randomness before creating a definition yourself; Explorations of spatial randomness, samples and distributions, waiting times, and random sampling; And exercises investigating examples from everyday, chemistry, biology, and physics contexts.
Learn more about the findings from my research.
Hey, Teachers! Looking for some ideas on how to use this module?
This site has been created as part of my PhD thesis on perceptions of randomness. I am always keen for feedback, so please email me any thoughts you have via amy.renelle@auckland.ac.nz. Thank you to my supervisors, Dr. Stephanie Budgett and Dr. Rhys Jones, for their guidance throughout my project. I would also like to thank Anna Fergusson for her help inspiring and creating this website. You can find the references for this site here.