There’s a difference between being random and appearing random.

The positioning of boards in hardwood floor is supposed to look random. But it can’t be.

The joints in two adjacent rows of boards can’t be within a few inches of each other. Joints one removed from each other shouldn’t line-up either. And any type of stair-step pattern just doesn’t look right.

So although the pattern might appear random, it’s far from it.

Number series are similar.

Something like 5 9 2 4 1 1 1 1 1 6 doesn’t seem like it should be a random series. But if you pull enough random sequences, it’s inevitable that seemingly strange patterns will appear.

If you’re ever tasked with making something random, be sure to ask should it look or be random?

-Brandon