The dreaded local minimum - While talking about various and sundry methods of simulating natural processes like evolution in order to solve problems, the concept of a local minimum has cropped up from time to time. Today, we take a closer look at it,

Computer ants? - Evolution based approaches to generating solutions to complex problems, have some drawbacks. They tend to require a great deal of computing resources, such as processer time and data space.

Tit for tat, thanks for that - In Darwin’s original theory, natural selection was considered to be driven by competition. This presents a problem. If it’s all about survival of the fittest, and out competing all others,

Genetic Programming - Today we take a look at my favorite evolutionary approach to making computers solve problems. This one has, now and again, produced results that are competitive with what humans can do. -

The genetic algorithm - Your DNA has most of the information needed to make you you. The information is encoded through four different chemicals that act as a sort of alphabet, spelling out the language of life.

Evolution strategies - In 1963, a couple of students were working in a wind-tunnel, attempting to find a way to figure out how to design surfaces to produce a given airflow. That was, and still is, a difficult problem. There are no simple formula.

How to make a mind—part4 - It took our universe between 13 and 14 billion years to make minds like our own. It took our planet 4.54 billion years, and life between 3 and 4 billion. What if we took a process we know can produce minds,

No species alone - Large complex multicellular life and simple single celled creatures have been evolving together. Each species requires an environment similar to the one in which it evolved in order to grow and develop normally.

The things you make me do - It’s strange but true. A microscopic single celled organism can change the behavior of animals that it infects. From a snail that climbs instead of hiding below, to rabies, to a disease that causes rodents to lose their fea...

Just not complete without you - Symbiosis between animals and bacteria is very common. In some cases, animals will not develop fully without their microscopic partners—sometimes, they can’t even reproduce. - Here’s a paper on the bobtail squid,