seanmor5

seanmor5

Author of Genetic Algorithms in Elixir

Yeah, the image is wrong. I need to adjust. Sorry about that

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Post #12
stevensonmt

stevensonmt

really interested in this book. Any reviews? Suitable for someone without formal CS background?

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Post #13
kokolegorille

kokolegorille

I liked the book and did not find it difficult to read, I learned a subject I did not really know.

Maybe it’s because I have studied Biology instead of CS, and I know what genetic is…

Terminology was familiar :slight_smile:

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Post #14
stevensonmt

stevensonmt

I’m from a similar background so that’s very encouraging. Thanks!

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Post #15
Fl4m3Ph03n1x

Fl4m3Ph03n1x

I have always found the topic interesting, but I really never found a use case for it. Most examples I see around are examples for which we already have a perfect algorithm - meaning we already know the solution. It may be these algorithms take a long time to run, but then again I would still wait in most cases instead of getting a “It is quite possible that this is the best solution” kind of answer.

Obviously, my preferences do not align if the run time is in the order of magnitude of, lets say, years of life the universe has.

So my question would really be: has anyone that had read this book found a real use case scenario for using it?

Right now I am working on what can be considered an auction sniper (there is an auction website, and my algorithm calculates the best price for my items given a few directions, like for example, how fast I want to get rid of said item). I understand the book has a chapter on finance, would this book hold value for the example I just mentioned?

Has anyone built cool things with the material from the book? I would really appreciate direction.

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Post #16
kokolegorille

kokolegorille

You can find @qhwa solving AOC with genetic algorythm :slightly_smiling_face:

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Post #17
Fl4m3Ph03n1x

Fl4m3Ph03n1x

Challenge in question:

Maybe it is just me, but I truly look at this and I see a variant of the queens problem, but with additional limitations (such as fuel and horizontal movement only).

I will say I am impressed that someone picked up genetic algorithms as the first tool in their toolbet though. Really interesting !

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Post #18
kokolegorille

kokolegorille

I don’t think people use their first tool for AOC.

Some did use awk @ferd , some sql @al2o3cr , and I used as a way to learn lfe syntax.

Genetic algorithm might not be obvious, but it solves optimization problems in a neat way.

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Post #19
qhwa

qhwa

Exactly correct for me :smiley: I’ve been using genetic algorithm in one of our products where we needed to solve a problem similar to the Vehicle Routing Problem and this book helped a lot. While there are a lot of solutions for VRP, I think genetic algorithm is still interesting as the fitness function can be easily extended as the business evolves.

One thing I find hard when using genetic algorithms is modeling the problem, or how to present the solution better. I would be very happy If the book can provide more help on it.

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Post #20
BradS2S

BradS2S

My oldest is in AP Bio. I’m always looking for ways to tie programming (my interest) into what she likes to do. We had a pretty fun conversation about evolution and how to simulate it using computer modeling.

Really enjoyed this book and got to impress the lady next to me on the airplane. :slight_smile:

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Post #21