February 2001
Intermediate to advanced
578 pages
14h 43m
English
Content preview from Illustrating Evolutionary Computation with Mathematica
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3
Genetic Algorithms
People have employed a combination of crossbreeding and selection for millennia to breed better crops, racehorses or ornamental roses. It is not as easy, however, to translate these procedures for use on computer programs. The chief problem is the construction of a “genetic code” that can represent the structure of different programs, just as DNA represents the structure of a person or a mouse.
Holland 1992b, p.66
Natural evolution implies that organisms adapt to their environment. Evolution works over many generations, covering much longer periods than those of lifetime learning. How could an individual learn to use its eyes if it hadn’t been equipped with eyes through evolution? ...