Good OM Reading: A Million Random Digits With 100,000 Normal Deviates

Jay just called from the snowy Denver POMS meeting, asking me to review the new edition of this classic book that we reference in Module F, Simulation. The book is Rand Corp.’s 600-page paperback, “A Million Random Digits With 100,000 Normal Deviates” (which delivers exactly what it promises), selling for $64.60 on Amazon.com. Exhibiting the great sense of humor that OM profs have, 400 people have submitted online Amazon reviews, writes The Wall Street Journal (May 1, 2013). Most of them mocked the 60-year-old reference book for OM professors, pollsters and lottery administrators.

“Almost perfect,” said one reviewer. “But with so many terrific random digits, it’s a shame they didn’t sort them, to make it easier to find the one you’re looking for.” Five stars from this commenter: “The first thing I thought to myself after reading chapter one was, ‘Look out, Harry Potter!’ ”

Several reviewers complained that while most of the numbers in the book appeared satisfactorily random, the pages themselves were in numerical order. Rand said its long list of random numbers, first published in 1955, is one of its all-time best sellers. “It’s a tool of some sort, but it’s beyond my clear understanding,” a Rand spokesman admitted.

One Amazon reviewer panned a real-life copycat publication called “A Million Random Digits THE SEQUEL: with Perfectly Uniform Distribution.” “Let’s be honest, 4735942 is just a rehashed version of 64004382, and 32563233 is really nothing more than 97132654 with an accent.”

“We are always amazed by the creativity of our customers,” said an Amazon spokeswoman.