Could I ask here if I am understanding the idea of "primitive" from this question correctly? I am thinking it means ...F(F(F(F(x)))... will only loop after 2**N - 1 applications? I felt this was too specific to me for a proper question but was hoping I could still find help here.

@e-sushi re: the site stats: At one point I found a question that was effectively asking "When should i post a question to stackexchange?". I recall reading an answer that effectively said "It should be the last thing you ever do". I don't have a link to the question as this was a long time ago. Would you disagree with that? I know some research is required before asking, but I tend to make asking questions a last resort.

My guideline is that the readers should find the question interesting.

@EllaRose it means: the RNG (if properly used) will give out 2^n-1 different values before starting from the beginning

I could have researched most of my questions myself, digging through papers. But then I would have been the only one who learned something.

Asking it as a question means that readers learn something as well.

@CodesInChaos That last part has changed my mind already. Thank you!

@EllaRose Not sure if I grasped what that has to do with the site stats… but generally, I would not tend to say that asking questions as SE/SO is the last thing you should do. So, Yes, I would disagree with that! As CodesInChaos already mentioned: most answers are out there somewhere. Yet, sometimes the infos found aren’t understood until someone “translates” things using different wording, and sometimes we all simply tend to look in the wrong corners to find what we’re looking for.

@EllaRose Long story short: if research doesn’t cut it, never hesitate to ask. After all, that’s what the SE network is for – Q&As. Besides… since you tend to make asking questions a last resort anyway (and remembering some of your past Qs) I’m pretty confident your future questions can be just as useful to others as your previous ones. Like @CodesInChaos perfectly compressed in a single line: “Asking it as a question means that readers learn something as well.” Can’t beat being social… ;)

@e-sushi I got the implication (but may have misunderstood) that the site could use more questions (and answers and votes). Due to what I talked about, I concluded maybe I could/should contribute more, because I've certainly consumed my fair share of information from here.

@SEJPM thank you for quick response to my question. I didn't even see it before.

@EllaRose Aah, now I get it. Thanks for the heads-up. Yep, that’s right… we could indeed use a few more Q&As. So, feel free to drop them whenever you think they make sense.

@e-sushi Thank you, you have been very encouraging :)

@EllaRose Thanks for the flowers. (Now, don’t make me blush. lol)