Population mechanics and cultural algorithms in the development of a cultural engine
Robert G. Reynolds, Leonard Kinnaird‐Heether · 2017
Cultural Algorithms provide a meta-heuristic framework for the application of various solution mechanism represented by Knowledge Sources in the Belief Space to the evolution of complex social networks in the population space. One of the key components in the configuration of a Cultural Algorithm is the knowledge distribution mechanism, the means with which the influence of a solution approach is spread out among individuals in individual subnetworks. In this paper a new method of Knowledge distribution called the population mechanism is introduced and its performance compared in complex real-valued functional landscapes. While capable of generating solutions to the entire range of problem, from fixed to chaotic, they are best utilized for fixed problems containing of low to high variability but begin to lose their edge with increasing periodicity. It is proposed that the population mechanism when paired with other previous forms of knowledge distribution will be able to provide focus in specific areas of search and provide a framework with which to provide metrics to build a Cultural Engine.