Show HN: I Ching simulator with accurate Yarrow Stalk probabilities
10 by jackzhuo | 9 comments on Hacker News.
I built this because I wanted a digital I Ching that honors the original math, rather than just Math.random(). Technical detail for the curious: The simulation follows the traditional Yarrow Stalk algorithm (Da Yan). The core of this algorithm relies on modulo-4 arithmetic on the stalks remaining after a random split. To make it physically realistic, I used a Box-Muller transform to simulate the user splitting the stalks with a Gaussian distribution (since humans naturally tend to split near the middle), rather than a uniform random split. I was worried this 'human bias' might skew the modulo probabilities, so I ran a 1-million-run Monte Carlo simulation to verify. The Result: The remainders [0,1,2,3] still emerged with a near-perfect 25% distribution (deviation < 0.05%). So, the app simulates the physics of human imperfection while preserving the mathematical perfection of the probability distribution (where Old Yin is 1/16). Stack: Next.js + Tailwind css Happy to answer any questions about the math or the hexagrams!
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