Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!uunet!van-bc!ubc-cs!alberta!cdshaw
From: cdshaw@cs.UAlberta.CA (Chris Shaw)
Newsgroups: comp.graphics
Subject: Re: Simulated Annealing (BOGUS)
Message-ID: <1990May8.075402.29186@cs.UAlberta.CA>
Date: 8 May 90 07:54:02 GMT
References: <1990May4.095051.17098@jarvis.csri.toronto.edu> <7772@ubc-cs.UUCP>
Sender: cdshaw@cavell
Organization: University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
Lines: 19

In article <7772@ubc-cs.UUCP> fournier@cs.ubc.ca (Alain Fournier) writes:
>According to my old friend M. F. Barnsley, simulated annealing is done
>with monkeys' feet, not researchers' hands, no matter how many (I can't give
>the exact reference for the Barnsley quote, but it's in either "Fractals *",
>"The * of Fractals" or "Are Books About Fractals Self-Similar?").
>

If Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel, then similarly, Simulated
Annealing is the last refuge of those trying to get a CAD system out the door.
Which is to say that while simulated annealing works, it works quite slowly,
and there is ample experience in electronic CAD to indicate that it is not
the algorithm of choice. The point being that a better search strategy will
usually yield better results without the 24 hour run times.

You might want to use simulated annealing as an investigative tool, however.
--
Chris Shaw     University of Alberta
cdshaw@cs.UAlberta.ca           Now with new, minty Internet flavour!
CatchPhrase: Bogus as HELL !