Theoretical developments in evolutionary computation
David B. Fogel · Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE · 1999
Recent developments in the theory of evolutionary computation offer evidence and proof that overturns several conventionally held beliefs. In particular, the no free lunch theorem and other related theorems show that there can be no best evolutionary algorithm, and that no particular variation operator or selection mechanism provides a general advantage over another choice. Furthermore, the fundamental nature of the notion of schema processing is called into question by recent theory that shows that the schema theorem does not hold when schema fitness is stochastic. Moreover, the analysis that underlies schema theory, namely the k- armed bandit analysis, does not generate a sampling plan that yields an optimal allocation of trials, as has been suggested in the literature for almost 25 years. The importance of these new findings is discussed in the context of future progress in the field of evolutionary computation.