So I've been programming a lot of little algorithms that are trying to optimize this or that. Mostly I have been using Matlab. Today, I am using Stata. I have not been converted. I ran it once and it gave me some results that I didn't believe. So I ran it again with different initial conditions and (tada!) it turns out that the point that maximizes a given function depends on where you start. Grr! (Just in case, I've already lost all of you, that is the same thing as claiming that my apartment located in a different place depending on the path you take to get there.)
So I read through the whole help file in order to see if maybe there was a better way of arriving at my conclusion. It looks like there are different search algorithms available in Stata that I can choose from. Thinking that maybe another one might be more accurate, I'm giving another one a shot.
That was an hour and a half ago. I just broke iteration 200 a minute ago, and it doesn't seem to be quite done yet. I would just head out and work on something else while it's crunching away, except that I'm doing this one a library computer, and they automatically log me off if I don't touch it for 10 minutes.
In any case, I'm all caught up on current events, I know what all my friends are doing on facebook, and I've written two blog posts. Maybe while I'm waiting, I can go and become the world expert in South-East Texan dragonflies.
4 comments:
Well, well, you certainly are a productive little worker bee!
You might need to accept the fact that the problem has less to do with the search algorithm and more to do with the function you're optimizing. There are some functions that just can't be optimized.
Remind me to someday tell you about the iterative dating theory that me and one of my engineering friends came up with.
Fun blog, Patrick. I once made a program (in C—this was up at the U of U with the Cosmic Ray Research group) that took text and converted it to Morse Code dots and slashes. That was definitely easier than what you're doing, but it was great fun.
Ummmmm, I believe you lost me somewhere in there though I do empathize with the silly library computers. Falling asleep while using one of them to study is super awkward...
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