We use coin flips as the almost universal example of randomness.

Heads or tails. 50/50.

Need to make a decision? Flip a coin.

Need to explain probability to a kid? Flip a coin.

Need a source of randomness? Well… flip a coin.

Except I’ve been thinking about this lately:

Is a coin flip actually random?

I had a Samsung Galaxy A71 5G lying around.

It’s not particularly new. It’s not particularly valuable. And, before I factory-reset it, Samsung had been periodically warning me that its battery was deteriorating.

After the factory reset, however, the warning disappeared.

Which made me curious.

Had the battery magically healed itself?

Obviously not.

So I started poking around.

My original plan was extremely reasonable:

Check the actual battery health and see how much life the internal flash storage has left.

Lock-in, Dad!

I gotta f’in lock-in for real! My boys are teens now and will be looking at me to set a great example for them!