2.3M views · Mar 23, 2015 · 9:22 · 3 HN recommenders · 4 mentions · discussed 2015–2026
Persi Diaconis explains on Numberphile the mathematics of card shuffling, including why seven riffle shuffles are needed to randomize a deck and how different shuffles compare.
Why Hacker News points people here: HN points to it as a good, anecdote-filled introduction to the math of shuffling from the expert himself.
“It gives a lot of insight and anectdotes in addition to the central theorem”HN comment, 2026
“He also has done research on the randomness of shuffling cards”
Persi Diaconis on the research behind shuffling randomness
This video from Numberphile goes in depth about this: link . The guy talking, is Persi Diaconis, is the main author of the paper this article is based upon. He also has done research on the randomness of shuffling cards: this video . Pretty cool stuff!
“There's a great numberphile with Persi Diaconis all about shuffling”
Numberphile with Persi Diaconis on shuffling, with good extra footage
There's a great numberphile with Persi Diaconis all about shuffling: this video The extra footage is fantastic, too.
“It gives a lot of insight and anectdotes in addition to the central theorem”
Diaconis on seven perfect shuffles, with anecdotes beyond the theorem
Numberphile has a video with Persi Diaconis about the seven perfect shuffles. It gives a lot of insight and anectdotes in addition to the central theorem: this video
“Persi on Numberphile”
Persi Diaconis appearance on Numberphile
One of my absolute favorite mathematicians is Persi Diaconis who is mentioned in this paper and was the original basis for this area of research. Well worth learning about. He was a runaway. Then a magician, trained by Dai Vernon and worked along side people like the late Ricky Jay and Richard Turner. He went on to get PhD from Harvard and got a MacArthur Fellowship. He is a legend. Ricky Jay talking about his childhood friend Persi: link Persi on Numberphile: this video A great lecture: link
