Building Blocks, Cohort Genetic Algorithms, and Hyperplane-Defined Functions

  • Authors:
  • John H. Holland

  • Affiliations:
  • Professor of Psychology, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, The University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA

  • Venue:
  • Evolutionary Computation
  • Year:
  • 2000

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Abstract

Building blocks are a ubiquitous feature at all levels of human understanding, from perception through science and innovation. Genetic algorithms are designed to exploit this prevalence. A new, more robust class of genetic algorithms, cohort genetic algorithms (cGA's), provides substantial advantages in exploring search spaces for building blocks while exploiting building blocks already found. To test these capabilities, a new, general class of test functions, the hyperplane-defined functions (hdf's), has been designed. Hdf's offer the means of tracing the origin of each advance in performance; at the same time hdf's are resistant to reverse engineering, so that algorithms cannot be designed to take advantage of the characteristics of particular examples.