S3E6 – Randonautica – The Quest for Excitement

Hello, I’m Lydia Shompole and welcome to another episode of the Creepy Tech Podcast.

This week we are going to do a quick dive into Randonautica.

10 years ago, none of us would have ever thought there would come a day where we would be on a government recommended lockdown. Stuck in our homes, and a little afraid to venture out into the world.

When 2020 rolled around, this soon became the reality we lived in. During this first year, an app started popping up over socials. Randonautica. An app that aimed to fill the need for adventure and exploration.

Let’s jump right in.

What does Randonautica do?

Randonautica is an app that uses quantum randomness to send you on adventures to places you have never been. The app itself has been around since 2020 and gained a majority of its popularity during the initial lock down. I think they’d call that a perfect combination of events.

According to their website: “Randonautica is a tool created to enhance the human experience with novelty by mindfully exploring the world, the interconnectivity of the universe and to test the hypothesis that human consciousness can influence the distribution of random numbers through Mind Matter Interaction (MMI).”

Their website explains that the app was created based on the theories from an earlier project named the Fatum Project. Based on what I’ve found, it sounds like the Fatum project was actually a bot that Joshua Lengfelder stumbled onto in a Telegram chat group back in early 2019.

What interested him about the project was the idea that, “random exploration could break people out of their predetermined realities, and how people could influence random outcomes with their minds.”

He quickly put together his own project using the Fatum Project code, and a bit later Simon Nishi McCorkindale, a developer created a website for the project. An app was then made, and as soon as it hit social media, it took off.

How does it work?

The application itself has one goal really, to get you out of your regular day to day routine so that you can find the excitement & adventure that may lead you down a path previously impossible under the constraints of your regular routine.

And as the official website states, “Randonautica presents an adventurous opportunity to do this by generating truly random locations sourced with quantum entropy all the while testing your ability to influence matter using thoughts, energy, technology and the world just outside your doorstep.”

After hearing this it’s only fair to wonder whether there is any science behind how it works. The main take aways are that, yes – the way in which the application determines random coordinates to send you to are based on some scientific & mathematical foundations. For example, consciousness, Sierpinski triangles, Chaos theory & deterministic laws, but it also bases it’s function on some psychological human behavior, and phenomena. Keep in mind that Joshua also states that there is a bit of fantasy and imagination influencing the application as well.

I’m not going to dive into these but if you are interested in reading up on it, the Randonautica website provides an in-depth explanation of exactly how each individual principle, theory or phenomena influenced the creation of the app. They also provide their sources of information – I will say, try not to start the dive into this if you have something that you need to finish working on.

The sources, explanation and imaginative work are super interesting & it’s very easy to lose track of time once you slip down the rabbit hole.

Anyway, the basic process of using the application is as follows:

Download the application from an app store
Set your desired radius – you get to select the length of the trip and whether you want to walk, bike or drive to the destination.
Select the type of GPS point you want to generate these are called anomalies – this is one of the more layered aspects of the application. There are four options of anomalies to select from:
- Attractors – these are random points that are densely clustered within the radius you selected
- Voids – these are random points that have a very low density – also within your selected areas. Essentially meaning that you are selecting a random point that doesn’t have many other points within its vicinity.
- Finally, you get to select the “Power” – essentially meaning the random point with the highest amount of either attractors or voids factor. Basically, the most anomalous point of either the attractors or the voids within your area.
- One other anomaly is a Blind Spot – which is just a random point. Basically, a random point that is neither an attractor (densely clustered) or a void (low density point).
You then select a theme or intention for your trip – Maybe you have a specific question you are searching an answer for, or you have something on your mind that has been bothering you. The idea is to set an intention for your trip so that events can unfold providing you a resulting answer, resolution, or solution.
- You can also choose not to select a theme or intention to have a truly random adventure.

Last of all the Randonautica website states that you can share your experience with others in the via the application or by sharing on social media.

Additionally, the website outlines some recommendations for responsible use of their application. These tips include:

Never, ever trespass onto private property.
Stay totally clear of dangerous areas.
Only adventure during the day.
Leave the environment better off than when you arrived.
Always Randonaut with a charged phone.
Keep a positive mindset!
Go on the journey with a friend or small group.
Do not venture into areas outside your comfort zone
Always use common sense when it comes to your personal physical limitations.
Enjoy the whole journey, not just the point!

Reading through these, I must say all pretty reasonable & justified.

Helping or hurting society?

Here’s where I think the application truly captures the human aspect of life the most.

Randonautica is a game. It’s an escape from reality, a way of escaping the pressures of everyday life and finding new places, new people and even yourself. It’s creating a way to take the decision making out of the bubbles we have created for ourselves. Most of us have a fear of trying new things, or embarrassing ourselves, particularly because of the unforgiving nature of technological advancement.

In the back of our minds, we constantly censor our excitement & sense of adventure simply because we know that “oh if I do something embarrassing or try something and fail and it just so happens to make its way online – then that version of me will exist online in perpetuity.” We no longer get the grace of failing in private or making a fool of ourselves within our small circles. Randonautica allows you to let something outside of yourself make a decision that breaks you out of your regular monotonous daily routine. Creating the opportunity for some magical experiences to occur.

The second reason is that it shows how we can use games as tools for self-discovery.

When you use Randonautica, you get to experience worlds based on rules that are not self-made. This creates a mindset that is more open, where not only are you seeing the world through a new perspective, but you’re also more observant, more courageous, and adventurous. I think it also helps you practice your imagination and optimism skills.

Additionally, the mental practice of deciding and setting your mind to an intention or an outlook is extremely important and does impact other parts of you regular life.

All of that is pretty cool in my book.

Now I do have some concerns when it comes to safety, crimes & the parts of the underlying metaphysical aspects of the life experience that we don’t understand.

First and foremost, safety – which is covered in their recommendations for responsibility while using the application, but I’m sure there are many users who either haven’t read those recommendations or read them and disregarded them immediately.

My main concern is that depending on the age of the user – the importance of following these recommendations may not be clear or may rank that high in their decision making. Most 13–16-year-olds simply don’t see the potential risks or consequences that could arise from disregarding recommendations like these for a few reasons.

If they haven’t seen or heard of anything wrong happening to someone as a result – then the possibility likely doesn’t exist.
If they have seen an example – it’s easy to assume that case was an exception to the regular experience that occurs within the app. The phrase, “yeah but that was them and that would never happen to me” comes to mind.

This first point leads to my following two concerns – crimes & meddling with things we don’t fully understand.

In terms of crime, the news covered a few instances where the application led teens to crime scenes. While a majority of the time, the application does take you on a beautiful safe adventure, statistically speaking, the probability of ending up in creepy or unsafe locations, or worse yet to the scene of a crime must exist as well.

While I won’t dive into the specific circumstances of these particular cases I have nevertheless provided those links as well just in case you want to read them.

Additionally, I would like to state that, it is strongly recommended that you avoid going to random locations by yourself. Just follow the recommendations stated earlier.

My last concern, and this might just be culturally speaking or my age showing but – There are certain things that I’m just not willing to mess around with. One of those being the metaphysical aspects of our existence. Yes, I’m fascinated by it, but I also have a healthy dose of reverence for it.

Alright, that is all I have for you this week, if you find information that you’d love to share with me, feel free to message me either by email, DM on socials or leaving a voice message on the creepy tech Anchor page...

As always, if you have a quick moment, head over to the apple podcast app and leave me a review.

You can follow me on IG @Tech_Creepy & on Twitter @TechCreepy & you can find the links I mentioned in this episode on my website Lshompole.com.

Till next time!