system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
What is random about Random Access Memory (RAM)?

Apologies if there is a more appropriate sub, was unsure where else to ask. Basically as in the title, I understand that RAM is temporary memory with constant store and retrieval times -- but what is so random about it?
gpt
It's called random-access memory because the memory can be accessed at random in constant time.  It is no slower to access word 14729 than to access word 1.  This contrasts with sequential-access memory (like a tape), where if you want to access word 14729, you first have to pass words 1, 2, 3, 4, ... 14726, 14727, 14728.

Edit: Yes, SSDs do this too, but they aren't called RAM because that term is usually reserved for main memory, where the program and data are stored for immediate use by the processor.