Abstract
 
Looking Under the EA Hood with Price’s Equation
Jeffrey K. Bassett
Mitchell A. Potter
Kenneth A. De Jong
 
In this paper we show how tools based on extensions of Price’s equation allow us to look inside production-level EAs to see how selection, representation, and reproductive operators interact with each other, and how these interactions affect EA performance. With such tools it is possible to understand at a deeper level how existing EAs work as well as provide support for making better design decisions involving new EC applications.