Randonautica: Reality Shifter or Real Time Waster?

If you have not heard about the sensational app Randonautica, then you must not have a Tik Tok or troll YouTube much. More popular with those under 30, the app is a fancy random number generator and an experiment in mind-matter interaction. The app translates quantum random numbers into GPS coordinates. The idea is to control your experience by thinking of an “intent” before and during the coordinate calculation. So what does this all mean?

The app's claim to fame is using ten-dollar scientific words to create an eerie, paranormal feel. It claims it works by using quantum entropy to produce random numbers that are then translated to coordinates within a user-specified area. As a writer of fringe-science fiction, I am attracted to things on the edge of belief- ghosts, parallel universes, interdimensional travel, ESP, psychic abilities, the Mandela effect, and the like. Once I caught wind of Randonautica I was instantly interested. The previously mentioned social sites are loaded with videos that are worthy of the adjectives creepy, spooky, unreal, crazy- you get the idea. But are these videos sensationalized for clicks, or is the phenomena said to be created by the app real?

Who created the APP?

It’s not easy to learn anything about the creators beyond the app, but one thing that seems clear is that neither of them has a scientific background. The CEO, Joshua Langfelder, is the self-proclaimed creator of Randonaughting. A former circus performer, Joshua has about as much scientific credibility as I do.

Regardless of his background, he has found a cash cow with Randonaughting: multiple reddit groups, over 10 million downloads of the app, and TONS of press. His self-published ebook, Dimensional Travel, is available for presale at $9.99- a high price for a debut. I think this is a good place to mention users are offered 10 free coins per day. Coins are required to generate a data point; my adventures each took 2 coins. The takeaway here? If you want to do more, prepare to adventure into your wallet.

Speaking of press, the other team member listed on the Randomnautica website is Auburn Sacedo of Presley Media. No, you didn’t read that wrong. The co-creator is a professional marketer and brand creator, which explains the formidable success of the app. In fact, there is a televised tour of the experience in the works. They certainly have a hit-from-all-sides marketing plan despite the fact the app has an enormous amount of negative reviews (mostly due to poor functionality).

Boosted by an uncountable number of sensationalized videos, good marketing, and a mostly free app, it’s easy for curiosity seekers to press the install button.

Wait, this is backed by real scientific research?

In short, no. Actually, the long answer is still no, but there is science behind the creation of Randonauting. The creators use the words “quantum entropy”, mention a university-based quantum random number generator, discuss research, and push fringe theories that have yet to be validated, to sell their product. They admit there is no scientific fact behind the app, though you have to read through several FAQ’s to find it.

Joshua has likened his app as closer to performance art than science. It has been dissed by physicists who claim the only science involved are the words used to market the product. Randonautica helps users suspend belief by using scientific words and allude to research, yet it’s important to note that everything behind the app is theoretical.

This doesn’t mean, however, there is no science involved here. There is. Quantum entropy falls within the study of quantum physics. Fringe-science, widely frowned upon by academic scientists, has been proven before. Some notable discoveries such as the continental drift, hypnosis, and Einstein’s theory of relativity, were all fringe science. The mind-matter interaction being proposed by the Randonautica app is only fringe until it’s proven. Wherein we find the crutch.

User Experience

I went on my first adventure on October 10th, 2020. With excitement, I downloaded the app for android and opened it only to find a blank, white screen. Perusing reviews indicated this is a common issue and thusly, the app has a very bad rating. Comments from the creator’s steer users to join the beta program to get an update that is not yet widely released. I joined and soon after had the app up and running.

Set to the attractor, I wrote down my intent, concentrated hard, and hit the generate button. I was led to a neighborhood near my own. To a blue house, in fact. The front yard. I walked by the house a couple times, but honestly, I felt very uncomfortable. The data point was positioned within the front yard, which was visible, but I was not about to step foot off the sidewalk.

I saw… a manicured lawn. I looked around the street, in the ground cover between the street and sidewalk. Nothing even remotely out of the ordinary. My intention? Cash. I was disappointed but was determined to flesh this adventure out to the fullest. I researched the property owner to see if, perhaps, the homeowners were named Cash. Nope. The only correlation I can find between cash and the grass is that they are both green.

I wasn’t swayed from trying again. My second attempt resulted in no anomalies. I tried again. The third time I set my intention as happy. I was directed to another house, this time in a neighborhood about a mile away. What made this adventure interesting was the house is 2 doors down from someone I know very well. A home I have visited hundreds of times over the past 15 years that contains people so important I consider them family.

Another adventure I couldn’t link to anything, other than being close to a place I frequent. I knew the former owners and didn’t much care for them. Nothing about the corner of their house indicated happy to me.

The bottom of the hole

While the app seems to have spawned some fascinating coincidences, the vast majority of users have completely uneventful adventures. The app hit the market at a time people were in desperate need to get out of their homes. It successfully creates a distraction from the “real” world and briefly takes the user's mind off the virus, the sinking economy, or politics.

If, like me, you enjoy delving into the unprovable, then we can explore the idea that those with psychic abilities are the ones finding what they seek with this app. For the rest of us, however, Randonautica is nothing more than a way to waste time and a good talking point.

Copyright © 2020 T. Nixon, All Rights Reserved

Views expressed in this article are the authors opinions.