Kent and Max. Thank you very much. It works fine now. Ara perc = raw_input("Please enter a threshold between 0-1. ") perc = float(perc) def percolation(perc): randval = random.random() print randval PERSON, EMPTY = '*', '.' if randval > perc: EMPTY return EMPTY elif randval < perc: PERSON return PERSON elif randval == perc: PERSON return PERSON