Evolutionary Exploration of Search Spaces

Exploration and exploitation are the two cornerstones of problem solving by search. Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs) are search algorithms that explore the search space by the genetic search operators , while exploitation is done by selection. During the history of EAs diierent operators have emerged, mimicing asexual and sexual reproduction in Nature. Here we give an overview of the variety of these operators, review results discussing the (dis)advantages of asexual and sexual mechanisms and touch on a new phenomenon: multi-parent reproduction.