I asked Claude for 37,500 random names, and it can't stop saying Marcus
github.com
February 25, 2026
1 min read
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49/100
Summary
Experiments with AI agents assessed how language models manage randomness, with Claude selected a name at random 37,500 times. The most frequently chosen male name was "Marcus," appearing 4,367 times, and Opus 4.5 produced "Marcus" 100% of the time with a simple prompt, while nine parameter combinations resulted in zero entropy.
Key Takeaways
- The name "Marcus" was selected 4,367 times (23.6%) in a series of 37,500 random name prompts across five models.
- Opus 4.5 produced "Marcus" 100 out of 100 times with a simple prompt, demonstrating deterministic behavior.
- Nine parameter combinations resulted in zero entropy, indicating perfectly deterministic outputs.
- Using random word seeds was more effective than random noise for increasing diversity in name selection.
Community Sentiment
Positives
- Injecting randomness into prompts can enhance the diversity of LLM responses, offering a practical method to overcome limitations of temperature settings.
Concerns
- The repeated mention of 'Marcus' highlights a potential collapse in the model's training, raising concerns about its ability to generate truly random outputs.