Machine learning algorithms have hyperparameters that allow the algorithms to be tailored to specific datasets. Although the impact of hyperparameters may be understood generally, their specific effect on a dataset and their interactions during learning may not be known. Therefore, it is important to tune the values of algorithm hyperparameters as part of a machine […]
Gradient descent is an optimization algorithm that follows the negative gradient of an objective function in order to locate the minimum of the function. A limitation of gradient descent is that the progress of the search can slow down if the gradient becomes flat or large curvature. Momentum can be added to gradient descent that […]
Gradient descent is an optimization algorithm that follows the negative gradient of an objective function in order to locate the minimum of the function. A limitation of gradient descent is that it can get stuck in flat areas or bounce around if the objective function returns noisy gradients. Momentum is an approach that accelerates the […]
Basin hopping is a global optimization algorithm. It was developed to solve problems in chemical physics, although it is an effective algorithm suited for nonlinear objective functions with multiple optima. In this tutorial, you will discover the basin hopping global optimization algorithm. After completing this tutorial, you will know: Basin hopping optimization is a global […]
Function optimization requires the selection of an algorithm to efficiently sample the search space and locate a good or best solution. There are many algorithms to choose from, although it is important to establish a baseline for what types of solutions are feasible or possible for a problem. This can be achieved using a naive […]
The genetic algorithm is a stochastic global optimization algorithm. It may be one of the most popular and widely known biologically inspired algorithms, along with artificial neural networks. The algorithm is a type of evolutionary algorithm and performs an optimization procedure inspired by the biological theory of evolution by means of natural selection with a […]
Differential Evolution is a global optimization algorithm. It is a type of evolutionary algorithm and is related to other evolutionary algorithms such as the genetic algorithm. Unlike the genetic algorithm, it was specifically designed to operate upon vectors of real-valued numbers instead of bitstrings. Also unlike the genetic algorithm it uses vector operations like vector […]
Evolution strategies is a stochastic global optimization algorithm. It is an evolutionary algorithm related to others, such as the genetic algorithm, although it is designed specifically for continuous function optimization. In this tutorial, you will discover how to implement the evolution strategies optimization algorithm. After completing this tutorial, you will know: Evolution Strategies is a […]
Simulated Annealing is a stochastic global search optimization algorithm. This means that it makes use of randomness as part of the search process. This makes the algorithm appropriate for nonlinear objective functions where other local search algorithms do not operate well. Like the stochastic hill climbing local search algorithm, it modifies a single solution and […]
The No Free Lunch Theorem is often thrown around in the field of optimization and machine learning, often with little understanding of what it means or implies. The theorem states that all optimization algorithms perform equally well when their performance is averaged across all possible problems. It implies that there is no single best optimization […]
