Introduction: Evolution and Computation: Where Do They Meet?

Evolutionary algorithms originated in the 1970s from the realization that computer programs can use the biologically inspired processes of genetic mutation, recombination, and selection to solve optimization problems that are analytically intractable. Successful applications to a wider gamut of problems became possible with the addition of new mechanisms such as generalized recombination, gene duplication, "developmental" evaluation of genomes, and unbounded genome size. Has this experience distilled concepts of importance for understanding biological evolution?