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In [[mathematics]] and computer science, the '''middle-square method''' is a method of generating [[pseudorandom number]]s. In practice it is a highly flawed method for many practical purposes, since its [[Pseudorandom number generator#Periodicity|period]] is usually very short and it has some severe weaknesses; repeated enough times, the middle-square method will either begin repeatedly generating the same number or cycle to a previous number in the sequence and loop indefinitely.
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===In mathematics===
The method was invented by [[John von Neumann]], and was described by him at a conference in 1949.<ref name="vonneumann">The 1949 papers were not reprinted until 1951. John von Neumann, “Various techniques used in connection with random digits”, in A. S. Householder, G. E. Forsythe, and H. H. Germond, eds., ''Monte Carlo Method, National Bureau of Standards Applied Mathematics Series'', vol. 12 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1951): pp. 36–38.</ref>
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