My point is slightly different from NFL theorems. They say if you exhaustively search a problem then there are problems for the way you search that mean you will find the optimum last.
I’m trying to say there are problems where exhaustive search is something you don’t want to do. E.g. seeing what happens when you stick a knife into your heart or jumping into a bonfire. These problems also exist in real life, where as the NFL problems are harder to make the case that they exist in real life for any specific agent.
Wh- I definitely agree the point you’re making about knives etc., though I think one intepretation of the nfl as applying not to just to search but also to optimization makes your observation an instance of one type of nfl. Admittedly, there are some fine print assumptions that I think go under the term “almost no free lunch” when discussed.
My point is slightly different from NFL theorems. They say if you exhaustively search a problem then there are problems for the way you search that mean you will find the optimum last.
I’m trying to say there are problems where exhaustive search is something you don’t want to do. E.g. seeing what happens when you stick a knife into your heart or jumping into a bonfire. These problems also exist in real life, where as the NFL problems are harder to make the case that they exist in real life for any specific agent.
Wh- I definitely agree the point you’re making about knives etc., though I think one intepretation of the nfl as applying not to just to search but also to optimization makes your observation an instance of one type of nfl. Admittedly, there are some fine print assumptions that I think go under the term “almost no free lunch” when discussed.