ontologically random

Terms from Statistics for HCI: Making Sense of Quantitative Data

(An effect) that is random in its actual state of being, such as the radioactive decay of an atom, contrasted with (an effect) that is epistemologically random — random in your state of knowledge. For example, if you are about to toss a coin, the future result of the toss is ontologically random; however, once you have tossed the coin but not yet looked at it, it is epistemologically random: you would still treat it as a 50:50 odds if asked to bet, but actually it is already on one state or the other, you just don't know which.

Defined on page 7

Used on page 7