diff --git a/src/main/java/Utilities.java b/src/main/java/Utilities.java
index f444927..4c734fc 100644
--- a/src/main/java/Utilities.java
+++ b/src/main/java/Utilities.java
@@ -7,14 +7,45 @@ import java.io.IOException;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.Arrays;
 import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Random;
 
 public class Utilities {
+    private static final double STANDARD_GAUSSIAN_FACTOR = 1.0d;
+
     public static SimpleMatrix ones(int rows, int columns) {
         SimpleMatrix mat = new SimpleMatrix(rows, columns);
         Arrays.fill(mat.getDDRM().data, 1);
         return mat;
     }
 
+    public static SimpleMatrix gaussianMatrix(int rows, int columns, double mean, double stddev, double factor) {
+        SimpleMatrix mat = new SimpleMatrix(rows, columns);
+        Random random = new Random();
+
+        for (int i = 0; i < mat.getNumElements(); i++) {
+            mat.set(i, factor * random.nextGaussian(mean, stddev));
+        }
+
+        return mat;
+    }
+
+    public static SimpleMatrix gaussianMatrix(int rows, int columns, double mean, double stddev) {
+        return gaussianMatrix(rows, columns, mean, stddev, STANDARD_GAUSSIAN_FACTOR);
+    }
+
+    public static double[] linspace(double start, double end, int num) {
+        double[] result = new double[num];
+        double stepSize = Math.abs(end - start) / num;
+        double nextEntry = start;
+
+        for (int i = 0; i < num; i++) {
+            result[i] = nextEntry;
+            nextEntry += stepSize;
+        }
+
+        return result;
+    }
+
     public static List<List<String>> readCSV(String filename) {
         List<List<String>> entries = new ArrayList<>();
         try (CSVReader csvReader = new CSVReader(new FileReader(filename))) {