# iPod Shuffle--not just random **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 8, 2005, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ipod-shuffle-not-just-random/325286 "2005-10-08T05:13:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jocularjason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b2d939/32.png) [@jocularjason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jocularjason)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2005, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ipod-shuffle-not-just-random/325286/1 "2005-10-08T05:13:15Z")
I think my iPod shuffles in a way that blends genres and sounddscapes. I doesn’t seem completely random. Has Apple put together some sophisticated software that they think will make my listening enjoyment hightened by regulating the shuffle function–or is it 100% complete randomness. If the former, how do I turn it off! ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2005, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ipod-shuffle-not-just-random/325286/2 "2005-10-08T05:24:45Z")
PDF file [iPod Shuffle manual (see page 15)](http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/iPodshuffleUserGuide.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![jocularjason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b2d939/32.png) [@jocularjason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jocularjason)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2005, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ipod-shuffle-not-just-random/325286/3 "2005-10-08T06:13:02Z")
> [@astro](#): > > PDF file [iPod Shuffle manual (see page 15)](http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/iPodshuffleUserGuide.pdf) Doesn’t really cover the topic at hand. I guess what I’m asking is if Apple software does anything to change the complete random unpredictability of the shuffle. Is it completely random or has the shuffle been doctored in any way? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2005, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ipod-shuffle-not-just-random/325286/4 "2005-10-08T13:01:18Z")
This has been discussed to death on this board and others. Try search. Apple claims it’s pure random and any appearance of pattern is simply the human brain’s propensity to see patterns where there are none. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2005, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ipod-shuffle-not-just-random/325286/5 "2005-10-08T13:50:25Z")
There’s just not enough compuational hardware in the Shuffle for it to be anything _but_ random. Think about it – what would it take to blend “soundscapes”, whatever that means? Seeing as the shuffle as no way to display info on a song, it’s not even clear that it store genre, much less has a way to analyze the content of the music. And why would they go through the trouble, given that they advertise randomness? It would be harder to make the shuffle aesthetically pleasing, so if they did it, wouldn’t they use that as a selling point? Bottom line – you’re imagining it. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2005, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ipod-shuffle-not-just-random/325286/6 "2005-10-08T14:32:53Z")
Story on this on NPR. One guy claimed that his Shuffle way always picking the Steely Dan tunes. University researches from somewhere or another tested and found the sequence to be random FAPIAP. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2005, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ipod-shuffle-not-just-random/325286/7 "2005-10-08T17:41:41Z")
You can now set your iTunes so that the randomness is actually less random. By doing this, you decrease the chances of two songs by the same artist appearing consecutively. The randomness of an iPOD shuffle is sort of like watching a roulette wheel. “It’s gotta come up black one of these spins!” “Red!” “Darn it, I’ve lost everything!” ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2005, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ipod-shuffle-not-just-random/325286/8 "2005-10-08T18:03:53Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Story on this on NPR. One guy claimed that his Shuffle way always picking the Steely Dan tunes. University researches from somewhere or another tested and found the sequence to be random FAPIAP. Turns out both of them were right. His Ipod did always pick Steely Dan tunes but that was only because Steely Dan was all that he had on his Ipod. ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2005, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ipod-shuffle-not-just-random/325286/9 "2005-10-09T01:29:20Z")
> [@BobT](#): > > You can now set your iTunes so that the randomness is actually less random. By doing this, you decrease the chances of two songs by the same artist appearing consecutively. How? ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2005, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ipod-shuffle-not-just-random/325286/10 "2005-10-09T06:59:41Z")
You have to have the newest version of iTunes. It’s in “Preferences” and then “Playback”.