Perhaps we are simple defining things differently. An
heuristic may be
something as simple as
a hard-coded value, derived from experience with a
particular algorithm in a certain circumstance. In the
example I used, I had
an algorithm that checks to see if a
line connecting two objects crosses a
boundary - pretty
standard geometry. The value I plugged in was part of a
check that said if the distances of the bodies from the
centre are beyond this
certain value, then we don't need to
do the boundary check because from
experience with the given
application they will not cross the boundary. This
value was
derived from observation and plugged in. Yes it is employed
in a
calculation, but it is the value that makes it an
heuristic, not the
calculation that employs it.
Now I could instead have calculated such a
value based on
geometry and logical deduction, but in the application the
objects never reach the theoretical limit. So that is not so
clear but what I
am saying is in one case we have a
calculation based on the logic of geometry,
which would not
be an heuristic, and the other case we have a rule based on
practical experience - the heuristic. [ Reply to This | Parent | # ]
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