Kludged

Is there reason to believe that our brains have evolved to make efficient decisions so that the details of the internal process are irrelevant? I develop a model which illustrates a limitation of adaptive processes: improvements tend to come in the form of kludges. A kludge is a marginal adaptation...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American economic journal. Microeconomics 2011-08, Vol.3 (3), p.210-231
Main Author: Ely, Jeffrey C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation
Algorithms
Alternative minimum tax
Analysis
Computer memory
Cost efficiency
Decision making
Economic costs
Economic models
Economics
Eggs
Evolution
Genetic code
Genetic mutation
Microeconomics
Mutation
Natural selection
Optimization
Raw materials
Studies
Tax exemptions
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Summary:Is there reason to believe that our brains have evolved to make efficient decisions so that the details of the internal process are irrelevant? I develop a model which illustrates a limitation of adaptive processes: improvements tend to come in the form of kludges. A kludge is a marginal adaptation that compensates for, but does not eliminate, fundamental design inefficiencies. When kludges accumulate, the result can be perpetually suboptimal behavior even in a model of evolution in which arbitrarily large innovations occur infinitely, often with probability 1.
ISSN:1945-7669
1945-7685
DOI:10.1257/mic.3.3.210