Monte Carlo Method

0 cycles

In this simulation we use a triangular grid. We start in the middle of the top row. At each row we randomly go left or right. At the 30th row, we total how many times we have reached each column.
You could also think of this as flipping a coin 30 times in a row and counting the different outcomes.
You can change the number of rows and you still get the same pattern.
Choose a number between 3 and 100:
So a purely random process yields a pattern. This pattern is called a Gaussian Distribution. It is also called a Bell Curve or a Normal Distribution.
And it turns out to be very useful to a number of different people.
Pollsters know their results should look like this curve, so they don't have to talk to everyone. Instead, they randomly sample a smaller number of people and extrapolate using this curve.
This is also the curve teachers use when "grading on a curve".
And due to random errors, student test scores should follow this curve. If they don't, it might indicate cheating.
Sometimes a science experiment will have results that appear to be random. But if you run it a large number of times, you start to see a pattern.
This is the Monte Carlo Method which was named after the famous casino on the French Riviera.
The Monte Carlo Method was first used on the nuclear bomb program at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.