Abstract
The theoretical foundations of genetic algorithms rely on a binary string representation of solutions, and on the notion of a schema (see e.g., [188]) — a template allowing exploration of similarities among chromosomes. A schema is built by introducing a don’t care symbol (⋆) into the alphabet of genes. A schema represents all strings (a hyperplane, or subset of the search space), which match it on all positions other than ‘⋆’.
Species do not evolve to perfection, but quite the contrary. The weak, in fact, always prevail over the strong, not only because they are in the majority, but also because they are the more crafty.
Friedrich Nietzsche, The Twilight of the Idols
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© 1996 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Michalewicz, Z. (1996). GAs: Why Do They Work?. In: Genetic Algorithms + Data Structures = Evolution Programs. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-03315-9_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-03315-9_4
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