Ambidextrous Socio-Cultural Algorithms

Metaheuristics are a class of algorithms with some intelligence and self-learning capabilities to find solutions to difficult combinatorial problems. Although the promised solutions are not necessarily globally optimal, they are computationally economical. In general, these types of algorithms have been created by imitating intelligent processes and behaviors observed in nature, sociology, psychology and other disciplines. Metaheuristic-based search and optimization is currently widely used for decision making and problem solving in different contexts. The inspiration for metaheuristic algorithms are mainly based on nature’s behaviour or biological behaviour. Designing a good metaheurisitcs is making a proper trade-off between two forces: Exploration and exploitation. It is one of the most basic dilemmas that both individuals and organizations constantly are facing. But there is a little researched branch, which corresponds to the techniques based on the social behavior of people or communities, which are called Social-inspired. In this paper we explain and compare two socio-inspired metaheuristics solving a benchmark combinatorial problem.