The sentence is printed under von Neumann’s name in a summary of his discussion of random-digit generation. The document explicitly credits George E. Forsythe with writing the summary.
“Any one who considers arithmetical methods of producing random digits is, of course, in a state of sin” John von Neumann — Various Techniques Used in Connection With Random Digits (1951 symposium publication, pp. 36–38; reproduced in Collected Works, p. 768).
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Provenance
The source
Work
Various Techniques Used in Connection With Random Digits
Location
1951 symposium publication, pp. 36–38; reproduced in Collected Works, p. 768
state of sin
A three-word excerpt from the scanned text. Its heading credits von Neumann and states that George E. Forsythe wrote the summary.
The documented source was published after 1930. Copyright may subsist; quotation and attribution do not grant permission to reproduce the full work.
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Context
Why it mattered
The surrounding discussion distinguishes physical randomness from deterministic recipes. Von Neumann goes on to discuss testing and using arithmetic procedures; the warning should not be read as an absolute rejection of pseudorandom methods.
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John von Neumann was a mathematician whose work extended to computing and game theory. This record concerns a published summary of his remarks about random digits.
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Cite this
The primary source (Chicago)
John von Neumann. Various Techniques Used in Connection With Random Digits. 1951 symposium publication, pp. 36–38; reproduced in Collected Works, p. 768.
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Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘Any one who considers arithmetical methods of producing random digits is, of course, in a state of sin’?” Last verified 9 Nov 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/any-one-who-considers-arithmetical-methods-of-producing/