random

Definition

Sampling without a fixed pattern. Random search is the standard baseline in hyper-parameter tuning, and it often beats grid search at equal budget because it spends its trials on more distinct values of whichever dimension actually matters. In experiment sections "random" also names a control condition, and whether the seed is fixed determines whether a result can be reproduced.

Explainers using this term

• Paper Walkthrough: Random Attention — Throwing KV Cache Entries Away at Random Works Just as WellRandom Attention: Rethinking KV Cache Eviction for Efficient Reasoning
• Hyperparameter Search — Hunches, Grids, and Bayesian OptimizationRandom Search for Hyper-Parameter Optimization