Ordinal Optimization : Soft Optimization for Hard Problems FB2 download ebook
9780387372327 English 0387372326 In May 2011, Munich-based artists Thomas Huber and Wolfgang Aichner set off with a seventeen-foot boat on a journey of a few hundred miles that would nonetheless take several weeks--because the route would take them across Italy's Zillertal Alps. Destined for the 2011 Venice Biennale, Huber and Aichner conceived of this seemingly Sisyphean task, Passage 2011 , as a metaphor for human hubris and the pursuit of success. As neither expected to complete the pass, Passage 2011 would also serve as a study of failure. Passage 2011: An Actionistic Transalpine Drama draws on the artists' photographs and detailed journal entries to reconstruct this epic journey, its moments of heartwarming success and its physically and mentally testing travails, including one instance in which they had to rappel the cheery red boat down a steep rock face that dropped more than two hundred feet. As a finale, Huber and Aichner launched the boat in the Venice Lagoon for a triumphant cruise along the Grand Canal, where, as expected, it rapidly sank and had to be retrieved in order to be installed in its place at the Biennale., Monkeys populate our culture, from the adorable hijinks of Curious George and the loyal friendship between Aladdin and Abu to the menacing gait of the winged ones in The Wizard of Oz . We visit them in zoos and even sometimes keep them as pets � la Catherine de Medici and Michael Jackson. As renowned zoologist Desmond Morris shows, it is not surprising that we are so attracted to them. While we sometimes view monkeys as trivial or comic, their mischievousness is delightful, and their urge to explore and love of activity fascinate us. Monkey unpacks human attitudes toward these animals, tracing our connection with them throughout history. �Morris reveals that our fascination with monkeys extends through many cultures and eras--ancient Egyptians revered baboons, monkey deities featured prominently in ancient Chinese and Japanese religions, and sacred status was given to the langur monkey by some groups in India. He also describes how our relationship with monkeys has changed since Darwin, and even become more troubled--this in-depth knowledge of our own origins amplifies our identification with and concern for the idea of monkeys' primitivism and destructive behaviors. Drawing a vibrant picture of these beguiling animals and their continued popularity with humans, Monkey brings a new understanding to our complicated relationship with the ever-curious George., Our civilization employs increasingly complex human-made systems, such as large-scale electric power grids, air traffic control systems, manufacturing plants and supply chains, the Internet and other communication networks. Performance evaluation of these systems is accomplished by using simulation models rather than experiment with the real systems. However, these systems operate and evolve in time via human-made rules of operation which are difficult to describe and capture by succint mathematical models. And while simulation models are often used for design validation and other purposes, computational constraints and the changing nature of the problem domain make them unsuitable for optimization purposes.If we accept the need for search based methods as a complement to the more established analytical techniques, then quickly narrowing the search for optimum performance (ordinal optimization) is more important than accurately estimating the values of system performance during the process of optimization (cardinal optimization). The purpose of this book is to address the difficulties of ordinal optimization problems " the optimization of complex systems via simulation models or other computation-intensive models involving possible stochastic effects and discrete choices. This book will establish the distinct advantages of the "softer" ordinal approach for search-based type problems, analyze some of its general properties, and show the many orders of magnitude improvement in computational efficiency that is possible. As such, the book is complementary to existing optimization literature. The tools described here do not replace but can be used separately or in conjunction with other methodological tools of optimization., Performance evaluation of increasingly complex human-made systems requires the use of simulation models. However, these systems are difficult to describe and capture by succinct mathematical models. The purpose of this book is to address the difficulties of the optimization of complex systems via simulation models or other computation-intensive models involving possible stochastic effects and discrete choices. This book establishes distinct advantages of the "softer" ordinal approach for search-based type problems, analyzes its general properties, and shows the many orders of magnitude improvement in computational efficiency that is possible.
9780387372327 English 0387372326 In May 2011, Munich-based artists Thomas Huber and Wolfgang Aichner set off with a seventeen-foot boat on a journey of a few hundred miles that would nonetheless take several weeks--because the route would take them across Italy's Zillertal Alps. Destined for the 2011 Venice Biennale, Huber and Aichner conceived of this seemingly Sisyphean task, Passage 2011 , as a metaphor for human hubris and the pursuit of success. As neither expected to complete the pass, Passage 2011 would also serve as a study of failure. Passage 2011: An Actionistic Transalpine Drama draws on the artists' photographs and detailed journal entries to reconstruct this epic journey, its moments of heartwarming success and its physically and mentally testing travails, including one instance in which they had to rappel the cheery red boat down a steep rock face that dropped more than two hundred feet. As a finale, Huber and Aichner launched the boat in the Venice Lagoon for a triumphant cruise along the Grand Canal, where, as expected, it rapidly sank and had to be retrieved in order to be installed in its place at the Biennale., Monkeys populate our culture, from the adorable hijinks of Curious George and the loyal friendship between Aladdin and Abu to the menacing gait of the winged ones in The Wizard of Oz . We visit them in zoos and even sometimes keep them as pets � la Catherine de Medici and Michael Jackson. As renowned zoologist Desmond Morris shows, it is not surprising that we are so attracted to them. While we sometimes view monkeys as trivial or comic, their mischievousness is delightful, and their urge to explore and love of activity fascinate us. Monkey unpacks human attitudes toward these animals, tracing our connection with them throughout history. �Morris reveals that our fascination with monkeys extends through many cultures and eras--ancient Egyptians revered baboons, monkey deities featured prominently in ancient Chinese and Japanese religions, and sacred status was given to the langur monkey by some groups in India. He also describes how our relationship with monkeys has changed since Darwin, and even become more troubled--this in-depth knowledge of our own origins amplifies our identification with and concern for the idea of monkeys' primitivism and destructive behaviors. Drawing a vibrant picture of these beguiling animals and their continued popularity with humans, Monkey brings a new understanding to our complicated relationship with the ever-curious George., Our civilization employs increasingly complex human-made systems, such as large-scale electric power grids, air traffic control systems, manufacturing plants and supply chains, the Internet and other communication networks. Performance evaluation of these systems is accomplished by using simulation models rather than experiment with the real systems. However, these systems operate and evolve in time via human-made rules of operation which are difficult to describe and capture by succint mathematical models. And while simulation models are often used for design validation and other purposes, computational constraints and the changing nature of the problem domain make them unsuitable for optimization purposes.If we accept the need for search based methods as a complement to the more established analytical techniques, then quickly narrowing the search for optimum performance (ordinal optimization) is more important than accurately estimating the values of system performance during the process of optimization (cardinal optimization). The purpose of this book is to address the difficulties of ordinal optimization problems " the optimization of complex systems via simulation models or other computation-intensive models involving possible stochastic effects and discrete choices. This book will establish the distinct advantages of the "softer" ordinal approach for search-based type problems, analyze some of its general properties, and show the many orders of magnitude improvement in computational efficiency that is possible. As such, the book is complementary to existing optimization literature. The tools described here do not replace but can be used separately or in conjunction with other methodological tools of optimization., Performance evaluation of increasingly complex human-made systems requires the use of simulation models. However, these systems are difficult to describe and capture by succinct mathematical models. The purpose of this book is to address the difficulties of the optimization of complex systems via simulation models or other computation-intensive models involving possible stochastic effects and discrete choices. This book establishes distinct advantages of the "softer" ordinal approach for search-based type problems, analyzes its general properties, and shows the many orders of magnitude improvement in computational efficiency that is possible.