avalonian
I often have that happen with actual cards and I thumb through the deck and pull a card at random.
Lottery numbers are generated randomly but the same number still comes up three weeks in a row sometimes.
Kindle fire tarot apps
I often have that happen with actual cards and I thumb through the deck and pull a card at random.
Lottery numbers are generated randomly but the same number still comes up three weeks in a row sometimes.
EthanWaite
From a statistician standpoint, that would actually suggest to me that it IS working. That happens with physical cards all the time. However, by all means stick to physical cards if that's your preference. Just wanted to point out that with true randomization, it would be highly expected to see reappearances of some cards, while others would seem to hardly come up at all.
kalliope
Thanks for posting this, as I was wondering if I remembered my statistics correctly! A random number generator will not distribute its picks evenly so that each number comes up about the same number of times, nor will it prevent repetition -- even though our human minds (mine definitely included!) often expect randomness to behave that way.
I'm not sure why it's so easy for us to assume that randomness will result in an even distribution, on average, but it is! I agree, though, with someone in another thread (can't remember where it was, sorry) who said we could debate the desirability of true randomness in a tarot reading. I'm not sure how I feel about it myself, and that seems like a whole other can of worms!
I think the compromise that exists in Galaxy Tarot, as mentioned by Ace of Stars, is an excellent one. Although one could use the random number generator to select the cards, you also have the option of picking the individual cards yourself when all 78 are laid out.
