But 'intermittent' doesn't mean 'no discernible pattern'. Intermittent is a pattern, characterised by frequent but irregular changes in state. That's not some special meaning I'm projecting onto it; that's what it means.

If I stub my toe four times at random intervals over the course of a year, it's not intermittent toe-stubbing. If I go through periods of stubbing my toe, separated by intervals of variable length, only then I could describe it as such.