why compression doesn't perfectly even out entropy

JonWienke at aol.com JonWienke at aol.com
Wed Apr 17 15:08:37 PDT 1996


In a message dated 96-04-16 15:51:46 EDT, Perry Metzger writes:

>There is no reason you can't have a string of 20 1 bits in
>a row in a perfectly random sequence, for example. Usually, random
>sequences are non-compressable, but it is possible (though very
>improbable) for Hamlet to appear out of a random number generator,
>and it is of course quite compressable...

Of course, if that happened, the odds of it happening from a Trojan Horse or
other type of attack are overwhelming...






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