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Optimizing and “Pessimizing”: Human Performance with Instructional Variants of the Traveling Salesperson Problem

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dc.creator Chronicle, Edward
dc.creator MacGregor, James
dc.creator Ormerod, Thomas
dc.date 2006-12-05T20:52:56Z
dc.date.accessioned 2015-07-24T14:18:14Z
dc.date.available 2015-07-24T14:18:14Z
dc.identifier http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/jps/vol1/iss1/7
dc.identifier http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=jps
dc.identifier.uri http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=jps
dc.identifier.uri http://evidence.thinkportal.org/handle/123456789/25608
dc.description The two-dimensional Traveling Salesperson Problem (TSP) requires finding the shortest tour through n locations. Untrained adults are adept at the task, and reliably outperform simple construction algorithms for n up to 60. Performance may stem from a specific, inherent ability. Alternatively, it may reflect general spatial intelligence, whether inherent or acquired. If the latter holds, then people should be equally adept at finding longest tours. Two experiments comparing ability in the two tasks found participants significantly better at finding short than long tours. Furthermore, human performance was significantly worse than a simple construction algorithm (furthest-neighbor) for the task of finding long tours. The result is consistent with the hypothesis of a specific, inherent ability to find short routes.
dc.format application/pdf
dc.publisher Purdue University
dc.source The Journal of Problem Solving
dc.subject travelling salesperson problem
dc.subject heuristics
dc.subject long and short tours
dc.title Optimizing and “Pessimizing”: Human Performance with Instructional Variants of the Traveling Salesperson Problem
dc.type Article


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