What is entropy?

Entropy is a measure of uncertainty or unpredictability. In information theory, higher entropy means outcomes are harder to guess. In draws and cryptography, entropy is the “fuel” that makes numbers unpredictable.

Entropy in everyday terms

A fair coin flip has more entropy than a loaded die that always lands on six. A chaotic photo has more entropy than a blank image. EntropyDraw uses a public chaotic image as an entropy source so the process is both unpredictable and auditable.

Entropy vs “random looking”

Something can look random without being secure. A simple formula can produce a messy sequence that is fully determined by a secret seed. True unpredictability needs a high-entropy source — or cryptographic binding to published data, as in audit-friendly draws.

Why EntropyDraw cares

We hash entropy.jpg with SHA-256 to extract a compact cryptographic seed from visual entropy, then bind locked rules to a future public drand beacon. The image is an audit anchor; unpredictability comes from the beacon, not a hidden black box.

Next: True RNG vs pseudo RNG and how to verify a random draw.