Quote:
Originally Posted by Ed Cruse
Doesn't a shuffle algorithm still have to have some kind of random generator in it? The shuffle still has to be random and therefor can still have a bias.
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The only source of bias
in the Durstenfeld shuffling algorithm comes from not handling mod bias (I can give you an explanation of this). When this is taken care of, the algorithm itself is bias free, and the only source of bias comes from the RNG used, and is therefore external (because the RNG isn't part of the shuffling algorithm).
Another shuffling algorithm (a very bad one) picks two random numbers and swaps the entries in the list you're shuffling based on those two picks. This is a biased method. Even when your RNG is completely bias free, this shuffling algorithm's output will still be biased.