Sounds A Bit Simple

Sounds A Bit Simple
random-number-generator-memes, hardcoding-memes, best-practices-memes, code-quality-memes, security-memes | ProgrammerHumor.io

So you're telling me you just hardcoded return 4; as your random number generator? Absolute galaxy brain move right there. Why bother with entropy pools, cryptographic seeds, or any of that boring external module nonsense when you can just slap in a constant and call it a day?

The top panel shows the reasonable developer using proper RNG libraries with actual entropy sources. The bottom panel? That's the developer who discovered that technically, any number you pick is random if nobody can predict which one you'll choose. Checkmate, computer scientists.

Fun fact: There's actually an XKCD comic (#221) that immortalized this exact approach with "RFC 1149.5 specifies 4 as standard IEEE-vetted random number." The joke has become so legendary that people unironically reference it in code reviews. Because nothing says "I understand randomness" quite like a deterministic constant.

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