Randonautica: using quantum randomness to break reality

An app called Randonautica recently came to my attention when I saw a clip of teenagers who found a dead body stuffed into a suitcase while using the app last month. I decided to post this in the Skunk Works forum because I consider it to be a fairly pseudo-scientific topic but I also think it's interesting enough to talk about and I couldn't see anything about it on ATS. The ideas this app is based on actually have some scientific basis with a long history which is worth looking at.

The basic premise of Randonautica is fairly simple, it uses a quantum random number generator (QRNG) to pick a random location near you and you're supposed to find something strange at the destination. Before generating the random coordinates it asks the user to focus their intention in order to influence what they find at the location. It may sound completely outlandish at first glance but there's actually a surprising number of videos where people find weird and creepy things.

Assuming you can handle watching TikTok videos this YouTube channel has some decent Randonautica compilation videos. Obviously a large part of it is explained by simple coincidence, with so many people using the app some people are bound to find unusual things. Sometimes they find boring things but other times they find weird structures in the middle of a forest or they find people doing strange things. Even if it's a complete gimmick I still think it's a fun way to find and explore new places.

However the reason I didn't instantly dismiss it as a gimmick was because it reminded me of the long running Global Consciousness Project being conducted at Princeton University. The experiment involves looking at the values produced by QRNGs in laboratories around the world and using statistical analysis to look for correlations between major world events and the random values generated. Most famously they claim the events of 9/11 had an impact on the QRNGs.

Like I said it goes back pretty far and has been discussed on ATS before, here's a thread from 2005, here's one from 2009, and another from 2014. The following chart supposedly shows how the numbers diverged from the expected results around 9/11. Apparently the shift in the data started to occur even several hours before the 9/11 attacks happened, implying that our "global consciousness" sensed the event coming. They say on their website there's a "one in a trillion odds that the effect is due to chance".



Something important to understand about QRNGs is that they generate truly random numbers whereas most computers are only capable of generating pseudo-random numbers. In other words most computers use a deterministic algorithm to generate a sequence of numbers that appear random but can be recreated using the same algorithm with the same "seed" value. The sequence produced by a pseudo-random number generator (PRNG) will also eventually repeat if the algorithm runs long enough.

On the other hand truly random numbers are entirely unpredictable, there are no ordered patterns in the data and the sequence will never repeat. The way we get truly random numbers is by exploiting quantum mechanics, there are events which take place in nature which are truly random. Some examples of random quantum events include radioactive decay, vacuum fluctuations, and quantum tunneling. Many of these phenomena can be measured and used as a source for producing random data.

The Randonautica app uses random data generated by the QRNG at the Australian National University but also provides alternative sources of entropy (aka random data). The QRNG at ANU generates random numbers by measuring "quantum fluctuations of the vacuum" according to their website. The Global Consciousness Project website says they generate random numbers using QRNGs based on quantum tunneling. There are even circuit designs out there for building your own QRNG.

While I was on the Global Consciousness Project website I noticed they had an analysis relating to Coronavirus and George Floyd, obviously I had to take a look. They note it's hard to draw any conclusions because the events were slow to unfold over a long period of time, whereas disasters like 9/11 happen suddenly so it's easier to detect any correlations in the data. However they still point out some interesting correlations which have odds of less than 1 in 1000 of being pure chance.

I also couldn't help but notice the political slant they threw onto the analysis of George Floyd. They blame the violent side of the protests on right-wing agitators. Knowing what we know now those claims haven't aged very well. Even if there was some agitators it seems quite clear who the majority of the violent protesters really are and what they want, but I don't want to make this about politics. I wanted to write something non-political but it seems to crop up everywhere I look these days.

Figure 2 shows the same time period on the 26th, when protests gathered momentum and some elements(reported to be driven by outside agitators) began looting and setting fires, including 3rd Precinct.

Figure 3, May 27, same time period. The protests spread and become more intense. The accompanying rioting is more clearly identified as the work of right-wing groups such as “Accelerationists” who are committed to destruction of government and economic structures.

noosphere.princeton.edu...

The Randonautica app claims to help you "break out of your reality tunnel" by going to random places you would normally never discover or visit. The most common theories I seem to hear is that it allows you to find "glitches in the matrix" or it will change your fate by sending you on a path which cannot be predicted by anyone or anything. I'm not sure those theories really make sense though, if the app works at all I think it probably has much more to do with how consciousness affects QRNGs.

The way Randonautica works more specifically is that it generates a bunch of random points on a map and then finds the locations where the points are most densely packed together (what they call attractors) but you can also look for locations with the least points (called voids). If an area has a lot of history or has a lot of "emotional energy" attached to it (for example a location where someone was murdered) then it may influence the random points on the map and cause them to converge.

Obviously I have tried it and while I haven't yet found anything amazing I've found some pretty cool places and some slightly creepy things. I've also only used it a couple of times and there's not a great deal of anything around the area where I live. I'm guessing that city areas will probably be the best locations because more people creates more potential for "high energy" areas. I'm using quotes because it sounds so pseudo-scientific, but sometimes reality is stranger than fiction.

a reply to: ChaoticOrder

Figure 3, May 27, same time period. The protests spread and become more intense. The accompanying rioting is more clearly identified as the work of right-wing groups such as “Accelerationists” who are committed to destruction of government and economic structures.

So politics has now invaded quantum mechanics and number generation?

a reply to: billxam

Hahaha... seems to be the case.

I'm also seeing quite a few paranormal groups using this app recently, which brings up another interesting idea. What if it's working in a similar way to those paranormal devices which randomly switch between radio stations to produce words. I can't think of what they're called but I'm sure most people know what I'm talking about. It could be that "spirits" are able to influence seemingly random events the same way they influence physical objects, implying that "spirits" could be leading people to these weird locations. I'm not really a believer in ghosts but if they do exist it seems clear they can manipulate some things easier than other things, and the more random or "fuzzy" something is the easier it is to manipulate.

Cool thread, bit of a mind bender trying to make sense of it. Makes a good break from the political stuff going around.

As a tool for someone that wants to try and train their intentions with something greater, does appear there is something too it but still all a bit hazy. For a fun way to get out of the house it sounds great.

it is a bit hmmm that the weird and creepy stuff is getting found, is this the main intention going around? I can understand some of this getting more attention.

a reply to: kwakakev

Not technically a random event, but when I have to take a detour due to construction or what have you, it often leads you down roads to places you never traveled before. I've seen buildings, farms, graveyards and other interesting places I'd never seen before because I deviated from the normal routine. Sometimes you find amazing things and places not far from home when you are forced to travel alternate routes.

Was just watching these Randonautica videos and I noticed a lot of people in the comment sections seem to think the app developers have people running around placing strange things at these locations. It's pretty funny that so many people think that explanation is more probable than the video being faked. Although the guys in the video do seem genuinely worried that someone is following them and tracking them through the app and it is pretty convincing.

However the app is verified which means it shouldn't do anything malicious. If it didn't use random numbers as it claims to do or if it harvested user location data they would remove it from the app store. Therefore these guys either staged everything they found, which I think is probable, or they did find some truly creepy stuff. I've seen it said that "chaining" locations together improves the effect and it certainly got weirder as they visited more locations.




Obviously it's not something that should be done alone and that's especially true for younger people. It's also important to avoid trespassing onto private property because you never know what could be waiting for you. In the 2nd video they walk onto a property containing some sort of non-descript bunker which looked quite suspicious. For all they knew it was some sort of unmarked military base and that's why a car seemed to follow them after they walked around that area.

a reply to: kwakakev

it is a bit hmmm that the weird and creepy stuff is getting found, is this the main intention going around?

Seems like most people are using it to make creepy videos so that's the most common type of intention. People can be pretty morbid and it also makes for good content. I've seen some videos where people have more positive intentions but the best discoveries are usually the creepy ones.

Interesting.
The first thing that popped into my head was the Infinite Improbability Drive.

Maybe I'll give it a try next week.

This video is actually creepier than any I've seen so far because it feels way more real than any other I've seen. I don't really see any way how this could have been faked. He starts with some detailed coverage of the teenagers who found the body in a suitcase, then still being skeptical he decides to go out and test the app for himself. The results are pretty crazy...

originally posted by: ChaoticOrder
I'm also seeing quite a few paranormal groups using this app recently, which brings up another interesting idea. What if it's working in a similar way to those paranormal devices which randomly switch between radio stations to produce words. I can't think of what they're called but I'm sure most people know what I'm talking about. It could be that "spirits" are able to influence seemingly random events the same way they influence physical objects, implying that "spirits" could be leading people to these weird locations. I'm not really a believer in ghosts but if they do exist it seems clear they can manipulate some things easier than other things, and the more random or "fuzzy" something is the easier it is to manipulate.

Thanks for creating a thread worthy of ATS.
In you second post, you brought up the use of random frequency tuners , which are known as spirit boxes.
These use a PRNG to pick the frequencies in selected bands. They are quite successful in many places thay are used.
It would be great if you could get one that uses the QRNG generators to pick those frequencies. If they were more or
even less successful, then it would be further evidence of the quantum influence.

originally posted by: charlyv

It would be great if you could get one that uses the QRNG generators to pick those frequencies. If they were more or
even less successful, then it would be further evidence of the quantum influence.

I thought the exact same thing, would definitely make for an interesting experiment. This GitHub page seems to contain circuit schematics for a relatively simple true RNG but it's still probably too complex for the purposes of a spirit box. The basic principle is to amplify the electron avalanche noise produced by Zener diodes, this stackexchange question contains a much simpler circuit design which should be a good starting point.

Fantastic. Great thread. I was using the Randonautica app and kept getting voids at uninteresting location. Then i got an anomaly with a high power level in the middle of a wetlands area. Unfortunately it is protected by the u.s. army corps.

Interesting app though. I think it's possible it could work.

Some of the videos ive seen lead to large ritualistic sites. Two of which would take a long time to build. Seemed unlikely that they would have created it themselves, but maybe tgey knew of the location before?

Ill post here if i find anything interesting.

Even if the idea of the app doesn't work, it gives a fun reason to go exploring.

a reply to: ChaoticOrder

I wonder if it's not one of these apps used to gather data from diverse populations. From what you describe in the OP of the app, if I'm right about data gathering, it would be easier to achieve these kinds of result by grouping maps and filter "interesting" imagery so that these "random points" gathers around the map's oddities, hence it seems to point towards mysteries.

Granted, I don't know anything about QRNG, and it is reasonable to assume a university to develop a partenariat with a phone app to use their tools to gather data about efficiency and quality of these. So I won't dismiss it. Yet, I can't help but think it is just one more app to get geolocalisation and to some extent behavorial data.

a reply to: IgnorantGod

You may be correct.

I tried the app today for grins. Took me a few places and nothing special was there. One I declined to explore because it was scrub country and I wasn't dressed well to go there.

Kinda doubt I'll try it again. Once was novel, more than that would probably feel goofy.

Cheers

a reply to: F2d5thCavv2

That's the catch about the concept of "special". It always comes down to individual perception and experience.

Mysteries are easily conceivable, but may be more tricky to debunk. It doesn't help when there's a group, which has a platform that permit them to be "in one place" while being physically separated, that just want to dismiss logical validity of stories in order to "break" monotony.

While I don't dismiss mysteries by lack of "evidence", visual perception is a somewhat unreliable source. It has its own set of priorities as a physical part of a compound, and uncovering mysteries isn't part of it as far as I know.

Then, there's the "mystery concept" opportunists. I'm pretty confident youtubers take these apps as opportunities to get click on their channel. Just filming themselves seeking random points with some catchy title such as "Uncovering local mysteries with Randonaunica! part x".

a reply to: ChaoticOrder

Kinda fun stuff here. I guess I randomly opened one of the videos. Maybe it wasn't random, maybe there was some deep quantum field influencing what I thought was just a random choice, but who knows huh?

Anyway the video that I opened was the first one in the post I am responding to. A couple of guys speaking in mysterious voices and some woman crying on the phone he held. It featured mysterious music and excitement when their QRNC gave them a location.Uuuuuuuuu pooky.

But then, only a minute into the video the commercialism reared it's ugly head. with the guy trying to sell tee shirts and other paraphernalia .

So I have to wonder just how random is it if like so much other stuff it is immediately tied to product dispersement.

Could my randomly made decision to pick that video have been part of my own quantum entangled predilection to avoid used car salesmen? And here, ''used car salesman'' is a euphemism for con men seeking to generate interest in a product that in reality has little to no value at all.

So rather than turning out of that video so quickly I might have watched further and maybe they would have shown a shelf of QRNG teddy bears that I could have bought for my grand daughter.

Am I being overly cynical or maybe I have been lead to this thread not by chance but by quantum fluctuation that enticed me out of bed early this morning so that I could with my blurry eyes make a mistake in my first typing of the letters QRNG and accidentally making it QRNC which of course might unbalance the whole of reality unless someone comes along to correct it for me. Opp,s I guess I did already. Paradigm shifting beneath our feet, or hands if that is what one is standing on.

Was thinking about making a thread on this. My cousin introduced me to this app over the 4th, and it’s crazy. Just be careful what your intentions are when searching for coordinates.

She has had some spooky things happen.

a reply to: TerryMcGuire

Am I being overly cynical or maybe I have been lead to this thread not by chance but by quantum fluctuation that enticed me out of bed early this morning

Lmao I wouldn't say you're being cynical, as I said those guys seem questionable. Their discoveries seem a bit too weird to be real. The video I posted below those two is much creepier despite occurring in broad daylight. Other than being a massive coincidence I don't see how they could have set that up and their reaction seems extremely genuine.

a reply to: ChaoticOrder

Wow, a thread that harkens back to the ATS of old. Thanks!