Definition
Plain language
A path that wanders step by step, each move chosen at random.
As stated in the literature
A stochastic process moving between connected states with transition probabilities; the basis of PageRank-style diffusion and of stream-clustering and spectral methods throughout this corpus.
Also called: random walks
Why it matters: This simple idea of random wandering underlies many useful methods, from ranking connected items to grouping data.
For example, picture a token on a board that, each turn, randomly steps to one of its neighboring squares.