memetic algorithm
<algorithm> A genetic algorithm or evolutionary algorithm which includes
a non-genetic local search to improve genotypes. The term comes from the Richard
Dawkin's term "meme".
One big difference between memes and genes is that memes are processed and
possibly improved by the people that hold them - something that cannot happen to
genes. It is this advantage that the memetic algorithm has over simple genetic
or evolutionary algorithms.
These algorithms are useful in solving complex problems, such as the "Travelling
Salesman Problem," which involves finding the shortest path through a large
number of nodes, or in creating artificial life to test evolutionary theories.
Memetic algorithms are one kind of metaheuristic.
UNLP memetic algorithms home page.
(07 July 1997)
Nearby terms:
membership function « meme « meme plague « memetic
algorithm » memetics » Memex » memo function
