Skewing java random number generation toward a certain number

Question

How, in Java, would you generate a random number but make that random number skewed toward a specific number. For example, I want to generate a number between 1 and 100 inc

Answer 1

Try http://download.oracle.com/javase/6/docs/api/java/util/Random.html#nextGaussian()

Math.max(1, Math.min(100, (int) 75 + Random.nextGaussian() * stddev)))

Pick a stddev like 10 and play around until you get the distribution you want. There are going to be slightly more at 1 and 100 though than at 2 or 99. If you want to change the rate at which it drops off, you can raise the gaussian to a power.