or 3 1/2 billion years, nature has used a nifty trick to improve itself: Subtly mutating the genes in organisms, letting the strong attributes survive and the weak ones perish.
These days computer programmers are embracing the Darwinian survival-of-the-fittest theory. Software incorporating genetic algorithms mimics evolution: Lines of computer code act like living organisms, continually interacting with each other and mutating. So the software evolves, rearranging itself to achieve the optimal solution to a complex problem.
GAs are being used to manage financial portfolios, design communication networks and improve manufacturing schedules.
* Denver-based Advanced Geophysical Co. includes a GA optimization technique in its software package to interpret seismic data.
* LBS Capital Management System, Clearwater, Fla., picks stocks for pension …