PyData STL Kickoff Meetup: Quantum vs Classical Randomness

Join us for the kickoff meeting of PyData STL! This first meetup is all about building the community, meeting each other, and enjoying a thought-provoking talk to start things off.
We’ll begin with an informal meet and greet, come say hi, share what you’re working on, and tell us what you’d like this group to become. After that, we’ll have our talk:
Quantum vs Classical Randomness: What Is Truly Random?
Randomness powers simulation, cryptography, statistics, and machine learning, but are all sources of randomness the same? In this talk, we’ll explore the difference between:
classical randomness (dice, noise, pseudorandom number generators)
quantum randomness (measurement, superposition, and qubits)
We’ll discuss what “random” really means, how random numbers are generated in practice, and whether quantum mechanics truly produces a deeper kind of randomness than anything classical physics allows. The talk is beginner-friendly and requires no physics background.
Schedule
February 2, 2026 (Monday)
6:00–8:00 PM
6:00–7:00 PM – Meet & Greet, networking, introductions
7:00–7:45 PM – Talk + Q&A
7:45–8:00 PM – Wrap-up and closing conversations
Everyone is welcome, students, professionals, hobbyists, and if you are just curious. Bring your questions and ideas; this group starts with you.