Logarithmic Convergence of Random Heuristic Search

Abstract

This paper speaks to the inherent emergent behavior of genetic search. For completeness and generality, a class of stochastic search algorithms, random heuristic search, is reviewed. A general convergence theorem for this class is then proved. Since the simple genetic algorithm (GA) is an instance of random heuristic search, a corollary is a result concerning GAs and time to convergence.