Life and A* Algorithm
You try to realte life to things you know better thats why i believe Life's an A* algorithm ..heard of it ?
For majority of people AI means robots who simulate human beings. But the reality is that even a simple system which can never be beaten in a tic-tac-toe game is an AI system. A general AI system consists of searching, decision making and moving around certain possible and allowed states. These systems use some standard techniques for searching and making these decisions, the most common being the A* algorithm. When i first read this technique i was surprised because this technique was nothing but life !!
What is an A* algorithm ? No technical details just the theme is presented here. Consider the problem where you have to find a way out through a maze. The state for the system would be where ever you are at the present moment and then it tries to decide what should be your next step. There are two steps involved. One searching for a possible move and the last but not the least which move to make. To calculate the best move a heurstic is used. This heurstic gives you an idea about how far are you from the exit. So basically the system considers all the possible moves , calculates their cost according to a heurstic function and choses the best state to move in. If a solution exists A* is gaurrantied to find it. In case of multiple solutions you get a solution Depending on what heuristic you use .
How is all this related to life ? Life is a Graph as well isnt it ? Nodes corresponding to the state you are in and the different edges from a node to another denoting the cost of the effort you would have to make to get there from this node. So whats life in term of these things. Nothing But an A* with every single person with his/her own heuristic trying to find the ultimate goal which too is subjective and pretty obvious this heuristic is dynamic. Every move you make you are trying to get closer to that goal node , your ultimate aim with a particular heuristic in your mind and depending upon the results you get you try to improve your heuristic. The only thing that should matter is that one day or other you have to reach there no matter if your path is not optimum ( Seldom is in A* problems). Applying a vague hypothesis that as life and an A* already match in few things they will match in every other aspect. Assuming this we can come up with some conclusions about Life.
These In an A* algorithm the system is smart enough to make sure that it doesnt go to a state again which it thought was beneficial but later found out the inverse. So lesson one says NEVER REPEAT YOUR MISTAKES LEARN FROM THEM.. THATS LIFE
Life's graph is admissable that is there is always a path to the goal node no matter which node are you in at this moment. So an A* is bound to give a solution. So no matter how bad your heuristic was there is a path. NO BODY EVER LOSES, NO MATTER WHAT IS YOUR PRESENT YOU CAN WIN .. THATS LIFE.
The A* algorithm after it takes the decision about a node follows the path in that direction blindly and when it finds out that its no good , it simply forgets it and tries something else. NO REGRETS, MAKE YOUR CHOICE FOLLOW IT DO YOUR BEST AND ENJOY EVEN IF LATER YOU FIND THAT IT DIDNT WORK OUT FOR YOU .. THATS LIFE.
However some major differences exist as well.Life is not real time system. Even if you die without reaching the goal Or got to it too late doesnt matter If u followed your heuristics and believed in them. GIVE YOUR BEST , BE BREPARED FOR THE BEST... THATS LIFE. ( Well only give your best would have worked cause when you give your best you already are prepared for the worst ).
An A* algorithm stops when it finds a solution. Life doesnt it shouldnt ! So you reach your goal and look ahead for another round of A* playing. LOOK UPWARDS !AFTER REACHING YOUR GOAL , SET MORE HIGHER STANDARDS AND GO FOR THEM THATS LIFE
ENJOY YOUR PATH !
What stayed with you?
A line that lingered, a feeling, a disagreement. Great comments are as valuable as the original piece.
Responses44
So, dude when's the sequel coming up? I mean presently A*, which is an improvement of algo A, seems to be approximating life ....when is the improvement of A* coming up?...techy bhai, are you working towards that?...Overall, not a bad piece though IMO [ Reply to this ] sequel by Techy on September 08, 2002 (Sunday)
by Techy on September 08, 2002 (Sunday)
by Subhajit Ghosh on September 09, 2002 (Monday)
good hit dear but it`s a bit statistical 4 me good 4 techy person like u i suppose [ Reply to this ]
by Techy on September 09, 2002 (Monday)
good,,really nice,, now somebody must have invented or discovered the A* Algo, u r an analyzer, ok, u r also working with some dynamic huerstic,but the subtle point we missed is that goal in case of life is more qualitative than quantitative,,and as dynamic as u can think,moreover, we cannopt consider it as an open system , let me get by the maze eample, so , u r not the only one in the maze, theres traffic in the maze and,we get influenced by the traffic, in fact we become a part of , some times even dilutes our path,,some times we emerge stronger. so therers space as well as time compexity,, meanwhile it was nice motivator kind of thing at end of the article, i would wait for the next one of ur !!! [ Reply to this ]
by Techy on September 09, 2002 (Monday)
Nice peice of work ; but then think that A* algo even if it is working in its subconscious state ( whether we know it or not ) and it all depends on ours heuristic so doesnt having psycho or mental stresses is all that A* algo can or may be lead to!! So in that case how does story work !!! [ Reply to this ]
by Techy on September 09, 2002 (Monday)
Hey Khurana, Nice analogy dude. But there has been a slight miscue from your side. You forget that one should never OVERESTIMATE, because then you are bound to get lost for sure and are more prone to over-look the right moves that come your way. What life is all about is actually the fact that one should always be humble and keen on learning from others, instead of being just heuristically oriented. In short, A* algorithm along with an inclination to learn is the apt analogy for LIFE. More on it later.... [ Reply to this ]
by Techy on September 09, 2002 (Monday)
well,my friend ,as ur name suggests the article is really a techy one...first two-three paragraphs look like a computer assignment or one of those terrifying rc passages u have to go thrugh when u r giving xams like gre ,cat etc. the analogy u draw b/w heuristic and real life is a good work of ur faculty but a bit anomalous or not correct rather .u say never repeat mistakes but since heuristic is a programme it can do so while for me ,being a human,sth wrong in the past may actually be good/beneficial today after i apply all my logic and experience. also a m/c can try endlessly while a human can't . But finally,the reading does convey its message to the reader that life is not about brooding and regretting but about trying and enjoying those trials.u reflect optimism which is so rare today so keep it up and keep posting [ Reply to this ] Present Tense by Techy on September 09, 2002 (Monday)
first of all, nice article. u must have given quite some amount of thought to this matter to write this. even i think , that a person must choose his path and give his best to achieve the goal. I agree with most of his ideas, except the fact that a simple human can write the rules of his life. When a programer thinks of a particular algorithm, he puts forward the choices like, a) right b) wrong c) both d) hmm.. no comments now these r the choices that the heuristic function chooses from. According to the author, the human himself is the heuristic function and also the programer of his life. Or in short, the human writes the algorithm. But, in real life, a human isnt the programer of his life. All he can do is live and choose from his electives. A human cannot choose his fate. In Life, u dont get a chance to write down the choices. Its God, who puts forward the rules. and we get to choose from among them and we get to live. Going thru a maze is simple. either the door is closed or its open. You dont have many choices. But life is complex and unpredictable. as they say , "The only thing predictable about life is that its unpredictable." [ Reply to this ]
by Techy on September 09, 2002 (Monday)
well, nice one.its a wonderful analogy,but i dont think life can be related to a simple algo like that.had it been so there wud not have been the much renowned chaos theory............. [ Reply to this ]
by Techy on September 09, 2002 (Monday)
This piece of article is an optimistic way of looking at life. The author seems to be a positive person looking ahead at the rosy things life has to offer to him. but my friend life is not always that rosy. it's not always an A* algorithm. i may give it you that an A* algorithm ALWAYS gives the best possible path according to the heuristic chosen. but this could mean nothing in real life. the path chosen may be best but the person leading the life often fails to follow this best path. here is the prime difference between the algorithm and real life. In the A* algorithm the tough part is the decision making part but in reality the toughest part is to follow the path that is decided. What do you say about this Techy ? [ Reply to this ]
Hmmmm.. Life ... an Algo... debatable... by Mayank Bhargava on September 09, 2002 (Monday) Lot has been already said about the heuristics involved in the algo and the paths that are to be chosen and then to be followed, so let me not get into that... If we look closely the algo says that chooses the best path out of the given ones to reach the solution, that is if the solution exists...How often in life does the solution exist is life, it is a temporary decision that u make hoping that everything would be fine and this step would fall in the right place...but the algo...does it consider that... I guess not, if I'm able to figure it correctly, Techy is using the depth-first-search here which eliminates the path which has been once taken and not found good (that is no looking back) but how many times in life we retrace steps?? Also as Augustus mentioned that the traffic exists...and it influences us...sometimes positively and sometimes otherwise and sometimes we influence this traffic. Would this algo make the consideration for that...that i'm a diff person and make allowances for my individuality or just consider me to be an android...if that's the case...its really scary... (1984 revisisted...as 2084). Besides this this algo takes into consideration that u've got a goal which u want to achieve...but if author has listened to the song "Everyone is free to wear Sunscreen" by Baz Luhrman (which i think he has), he'll know that not many ppl are very sure what do they want to do with their lives...i don't know, may be u know but the gal next door doesn't... so this goal setting ...is again questionable... The analogies drawn towards the end are simply amazing...quite motivating but may be the 4th one can be corrected a li'l bit, (may be the author intended it to be that way...) but I feel "Give your best and be prepared for the worst"... doesn't get you too much disappointment (Even Dale Carnegie agrees with me on this one... too bad that he had already written the
by errata on September 10, 2002 (Tuesday)
Well, this thread has really taken off, isn't it - I think a lot of original thinking has gone into creating this piece and not surprisingly it has caught a lot of people's imagination. Kudos to the author !! My take on life is just some carbon atoms figuring out carbon items! It doesn't matter - if the carbon items can fashion their path by some heuristic, all the best to them. It doesn't change anything ;o) There are however several other things that can be better fit in with the A* algorithm than the art of living - try evolution for one !! [ Reply to this ]
But if u insist.... by Mayank Bhargava on September 10, 2002 (Tuesday)
by Techy on September 10, 2002 (Tuesday)
While the conclusions are nice, they could as well as have been derived from any other thing. It's just a matter of observing it. It's a nice start, for a sure, but go deeper. I would also like to point out the thing noted by many others that in case of life, the goal is very dynamic. While you are working for some other goal, you are as well satisfied with something-in-between or sometimes with the path itself. Also, you do not necessarily calculate your immediate moves based on how close it is to final goal, but how close it is to the intermediate goal which you have set forth as a milestone for the final one. Sometimes, following a particular path gives you more ethical and moral satisfaction then some other path, which takes you more closer to the final goal. To sum it up, life is too complex and can't be modelled with any model as simplistic as this. And the "goal of life " is dynamic, as well. [ Reply to this ]
by Techy on September 10, 2002 (Tuesday)
i read this article twice and found it very interesting. it is a completely new and innovative approach to present life. i agree with the fact that one should not regret about that he has done in past...always we should try to look forward .it makes more sense to live in present tense. i hope this type of article in future. [ Reply to this ]
i read this article twice and found it very interesting. it is a completely new and innovative approach to present life. i agree with the fact that one should not regret about that he has done in past...always we should try to look forward .it makes more sense to live in present tense. i hope this type of article in future. [ Reply to this ]
I've been following this piece and the comments for long now when a lot has already been said i have a few questions which IMO are cardinal to the subject...is it life which emulates the heuristic or that the heuristic is but a small part of the complex called life which at times seems to be the pure application of logic (of the order u'r paper talks in a very narrow detail) and others is vague as ever.... there cant be infinite ways in any maze to the goal like no such maze can be CREATED which can offer infinite ways that�s why u have used the words like possible and allowed states....standard techniques phrases which stand for closed box approach...its life where there are no upper limits and which at times finds the way never thought existed remember Jurassic park...and don�t forget life never follows patterns. Next time come up with something more convincing PS nothing new we've seen u drawing analogies from almost anything if u want to enjoy the path u have to walk...just walk with out preconditions u feel good even when u'r feet hurt believe me.... [ Reply to this ] :)) by Techy on September 11, 2002 (Wednesday) The Approach, the Difference by Techy on September 12, 2002 (Thursday)
by Mayank Bhargava on September 14, 2002 (Saturday)
hey man u ve written a gr8 marale booster......a food for thought as well........but there is a subtle difference between real life and AI.....that lies,as you mentioned, in the fact that A*Algorithm always follows the most efficient path designed by the programmer.....if i am getting it right.......but a human beings,as happens in most of the cases,dont follow the most efficient path....what do u think......neways.....gr8 work indeed!!!!!! [ Reply to this ]
by Techy on September 11, 2002 (Wednesday)
Hey Saurabh, Hello ! Though parts of it i couldnt understand.. It was a great concept. i liked it keep it up!! [ Reply to this ]
Oye Saurabh, Yeh sab kya kya likhta reheta hai tu ?! Kyon bhole bhaala logon ko bewakoof bana raha hai ! Bhala aajtak koi algorithm life ke essence ko capture kar paya hai kya ?! Leave alone life itself ! Yaar, right now, it's raining rather heavily, and I can see it from my window. Is there really a need for jumping to another node (of my life) that supposedly will take me to my Goal (as you say it) ?! Why not enjoy this very moment and watch this rain ?! What more would I want ?! Nothing absolutely ! How blissful it is when we stop expecting things from life !! A monk once asked a Zen Master,"What does the future hold for me ?", to which the latter replied,"Everyday is a perfect day !". Chalo chalo, bahut ho gaya discussion. Yaar, baarish mein Carpenters sunne ka mazaa kuch aur hi hai !!! I will never be able to tell you. Khair, uski jaroorat bhi nahi hai !!! Ciao [ Reply to this ]
by Techy on September 12, 2002 (Thursday)
A marvellous analogy and a well written article. Life knows no bounds and u never lose.. so .. u never win as well .. the achievements that u make in the whole process are the means of achieving a higher goal so this higher goal .. shud be clear in the mind... A clear difference between the 'goal/aim' and the 'means' of achieving the goals shud be there in the mind... [ Reply to this ]
Reply asap by Nisha on September 13, 2002 (Friday) Hey Saurabh, You have replied to every body u c . but not to me :( Do it juldi se or else u know what ..... [ Reply to this ] Cool by Techy on September 13, 2002 (Friday)
well quite a furor has been raised abt life being viewed as a algorithm..hmm funny coz the people from whom most of the objections have come from,seem to be the most likely of people to percieve life that way..techy just was candid enough to bring it to light, and well what followed really tickles my jugular. of course i dont agree with the author,but then i dont blame him either for his perspective..coz that seems the most pragmatic.but its really funny how we tend to forget what we really tantamount to in this vast,vast universe..we just like a trivial speck of dust,but then even dust has the right to view itself as a magnificent creation and have delusions of grandeur..in fact i feel in a way its the right attitude, but deep inside i know theres much more to it than we will ever know..probably thats the way it is supposed to be.. [ Reply to this ] Attitude ! by Techy on September 15, 2002 (Sunday)
by Aragorn on September 20, 2002 (Friday)
by Kreep on September 21, 2002 (Saturday)
Thought provoking, to say the least...so here are some of mine.. IMO this is a good attempt at 'a theory for life', but like all theories, this isnt perfect. The description of life as a continual desicion making process is really good, and so are the lessons derived from mutual exclusivity property of these events which should be so obvious to us all, only it isnt. On the other hand,dicretization of life into rounds of A* games is rather artificial. the analogy does not say anything about gains made during the journey throiugh the maze(satisfaction can be derived from working towards the goals, even before you achieve them). I think a better description can be derived on a multidimensional maze basis, only it would take a real effort to write that out without sounding repellingly technical!!!! overall...really enjoyable [ Reply to this ]
by Techy on September 16, 2002 (Monday)
I could never go beyond the second para! Am still trying to figure out how I went that far anyway! Geez..! [ Reply to this ] God's Equation by bullet on September 23, 2002 (Monday)
hii techy.... nice to see a article on life n all wraped in technical approach.i m electronics engineer...i appreciate ur effort.but why ppl dont go for the things when they already know wat is wrong and wat is right, everytime why the hell they should b told.okay u would say ,enlightening is important...but do they really doing something after understanding it.wuufffff.... but dont u thing that life resembles a bit more close to digital signal processing(DSP)....it was a whole lot of philosophy for me....i would appreciate u if u could correlate DSP and life. waiting for ur next .... [ Reply to this ]
hii techy.... nice to see a article on life n all wraped in technical approach.i m electronics engineer...i appreciate ur effort.but why ppl dont go for the things when they already know wat is wrong and wat is right, everytime why the hell they should b told.okay u would say ,enlightening is important...but do they really doing something after understanding it.wuufffff.... but dont u thing that life resembles a bit more close to digital signal processing(DSP)....it was a whole lot of philosophy for me....i would appreciate u if u could correlate DSP and life. waiting for ur next .... [ Reply to this ] The Difference by Techy on September 25, 2002 (Wednesday)
Hi Techie, Sorry for being rude, but I must say that you are a moron. Let me guess, You have never studied AI before and this is the first time you tried writing an article. Had you really studied AI you wouldn't make such a lame analogy. The whole idea of AI (or A-life) is to emulate human behaviour/intelligence in machines. Writing an article on how life is similar to AI is stupid, to say the least. It follows from the definition of AI you fuckwit!! Let me put it in simpler words: You defining X as something similar to Y, and then you write articles exclaiming how you discovered Y was so similar to X. No shit it is !! Apart from the fact that your whole article is baseless, there are a lot of technical faults (or wrong statements should I say) that I'd like to correct. "But the reality is that even a simple system which can never be beaten in a tic-tac-toe game is an AI system." Not true. The most widely accepted definition of an intelligent program is the Turing test proposed by Alan Turing in his 1950 article "Computing Machinery and Intelligence" , according to which the program that you suggested is NOT even remotely AI. I would suggest reading that article (search for it on google). You know, when you write an article for a relatively large audience, then you have a moral responsibility to make sure you don't give out any WRONG information. Giving your opinion is fine, but make sure you know what you're saying when it comes to giving pieces of information. "Life is a Graph as well isnt it ?" No, its not. Life does not have a specified goal, whereas an AI program does. "So an A* is bound to give a solution." Wrong. Even though your analogy was poor, you made an earnest attempt to give words of encouragement to people...... which is cool. So I'm gonna give you partial credit for it. Try again. [ Reply to this ] From Techy's desk 1 2 3 4 5 Total 25 ratings. Home | Post Article | General Musings | Slice Of Life | Humor | People | Wanderlust | Sport