cnet.com.au— Think that song has appeared in your playlists just a few too many times? CNET.com.au analyzes Apple iTunes' song randomizer -- and finds some surprising results.
Mar 8, 2007View in Crawl 4
Next up. Is a deck of cards random? I played cards last night and got pocket aces on 3 times and kings twice. I must have been cheating. Now all I have to do is figure out how I did it, so I can do it again next time I play.
It does merit further inquiry. It must be possible to install a logger on some iPod models? Folks could contribute their numbers to a central site. Have a forum to have at it, as far as what to log, and how etc.There is possibly something in the "DRM" that could trigger more plays, or less, as desired. There is a potential source of profit here, of course.***** There absolutely is something to repeated plays increasing popularity. Basic top 40 has recognized that and worked it forever. It is why payola works. People will react to the crap. Personally, I think it is not the music itself, but because of life associations/memories made while the music is on in the background. I still react to old songs, songs I reaLLy did not like, but were really forced on me via the environment, work,parties clubs etc. I hear certain tunes, I am there again. Folks talk about "our song" etc. The ability to control this to some degree has to be a priority to the copyright clan. It is worth investigating.
My guess is that however they generate random numbers in iTunes doesn't give a uniform distribution. There are lots of ways this can happen, and it doesn't require a conspiracy theory to back it up. I agree a more scientific study would be interesting though... just in case there is a conspiracy :-P
One thing i dont get is why people just don't check the itunes source code? Surely it will tell if there is logic to the shuffle option, or if it is truely shuffling it.
Damn, I'm dumb. Thanks for that bit of info. What if you never sync it with iTunes? I never installed iTunes on my computer and use xplay or songbird to load up my shuffle.
"involving equal chances"But that's just it. Equal *chance*, not equal distribution in every subset. "Equal chance" means, if the random test were conducted an infinite number of times, the results would tend toward equal distribution.Flip a coin twice and you have a 50% chance of getting two heads or two tails. Is that even distributed? No. If flips were always distributed you would always get one heads and one tails. But is it random? Yes.Ask enough people to flip a coin 10 times, and someone will get 10 heads on a row. That's random. iTunes does not force "five heads and five tails", it allows things to be random.
mynameisjoeMar 9, 2007
Next up. Is a deck of cards random? I played cards last night and got pocket aces on 3 times and kings twice. I must have been cheating. Now all I have to do is figure out how I did it, so I can do it again next time I play.
Closed AccountMar 9, 2007
Edit time ran out: Anyone who wants to, pick up Stadium Arcadium. The best $30 you will spend in a year.
mwshermanMar 9, 2007
I don't believe anything without a p value.
dagospelmanMar 9, 2007
awful piece of analysis. Not one recognised statistical test was performed to see if the results were statistically significant or not
greenmountainMar 9, 2007
It does merit further inquiry. It must be possible to install a logger on some iPod models? Folks could contribute their numbers to a central site. Have a forum to have at it, as far as what to log, and how etc.There is possibly something in the "DRM" that could trigger more plays, or less, as desired. There is a potential source of profit here, of course.***** There absolutely is something to repeated plays increasing popularity. Basic top 40 has recognized that and worked it forever. It is why payola works. People will react to the crap. Personally, I think it is not the music itself, but because of life associations/memories made while the music is on in the background. I still react to old songs, songs I reaLLy did not like, but were really forced on me via the environment, work,parties clubs etc. I hear certain tunes, I am there again. Folks talk about "our song" etc. The ability to control this to some degree has to be a priority to the copyright clan. It is worth investigating.
chumpchiefMar 9, 2007
My guess is that however they generate random numbers in iTunes doesn't give a uniform distribution. There are lots of ways this can happen, and it doesn't require a conspiracy theory to back it up. I agree a more scientific study would be interesting though... just in case there is a conspiracy :-P
mitchtjMar 10, 2007
One thing i dont get is why people just don't check the itunes source code? Surely it will tell if there is logic to the shuffle option, or if it is truely shuffling it.
cornloafMar 11, 2007
Damn, I'm dumb. Thanks for that bit of info. What if you never sync it with iTunes? I never installed iTunes on my computer and use xplay or songbird to load up my shuffle.
elusivebyteMar 11, 2007
"involving equal chances"But that's just it. Equal *chance*, not equal distribution in every subset. "Equal chance" means, if the random test were conducted an infinite number of times, the results would tend toward equal distribution.Flip a coin twice and you have a 50% chance of getting two heads or two tails. Is that even distributed? No. If flips were always distributed you would always get one heads and one tails. But is it random? Yes.Ask enough people to flip a coin 10 times, and someone will get 10 heads on a row. That's random. iTunes does not force "five heads and five tails", it allows things to be random.