Abstract
We identify classes of functions for which a No Free Lunch result does and does not hold, with particular emphasis on the relationship between No Free Lunch and problem description length. We show that a NFL result does not apply to a set of functions when the description length of the functions is sufficiently bounded. We consider sets of functions with non-uniform associated probability distributions, and show that a NFL result does not hold if the probabilities are assigned according either to description length or to a Solomonoff- Levin distribution. We close with a discussion of the conditions under which NFL can apply to sets containing an infinite number of functions.
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Streeter, M.J. (2003). Two Broad Classes of Functions for Which a No Free Lunch Result Does Not Hold. In: Cantú-Paz, E., et al. Genetic and Evolutionary Computation — GECCO 2003. GECCO 2003. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 2724. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-45110-2_15
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-45110-2_15
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