[Tyler]

The Problem with Genetic Algorithms? They're Too Cute
     

A McGill Daily
article offers a high-level overview of Genetic Algorithms (GAs) and
the advantages brought to scientific problem solving by applying
nature's method. The traditional problem solving method used by
Scientists was described by
Richard P. Feynman in a Southparkesque-way:
1) Write down the
problem. 2) Think really, really hard. 3) Write down the solution..
Genetic Algorithms offer an advantage over this method in that they aren't
limited by human preconceptions about how a problem should be solved.
However, the article describes the downsides of GAs too. They may offer
multiple solutions, leaving you to guess which is best and they may
require excessive trial-and-error knob-twiddling. According to Doina
Precup of McGill University, the biggest problem is that the beauty of
the technique can blind people to the drawbacks; "They’re too cute.
Genetic algorithms don’t get bonus credibility just because that’s what
nature did".
   

http://robots.net/article/2471.html