Cultural Algorithms: Computational Modeling of How Cultures Learn to Solve Problems: An Engineering Example

Our previous work on real-valued function optimization problems had shown that cultural learning emerged as the result of meta-level interaction or swarming of knowledge sources, “knowledge swarms,” in the belief space. These meta-level swarms induced the swarming of individuals in the population space, “Cultural Swarms.” The interaction of these knowledge sources produced emergent phases of problem solving. In this article, we apply the approach to a real-world problem in engineering design. We observe the emergence of these same features in a completely different problem environment. We conclude by suggesting the emergent features are what give cultural systems their power to learn and adapt.