PHIL: Phil Wolfe
IRV: Irvin Lustig
IRV
How do you describe optimization to someone who doesn't know what it is?
PHIL
I use the cow feeding, via the diet problem, as an example. Or, a little more obscurely, I refer to the example where all the valves in refineries are proved to get the maximum output. Then you say, "What do you need out of the equations that describe the operations of the refinery?" You need a mathematical method that will tell you how to set the numbers for those valves in such a way to give the function its best possible value. But cocktail parties are hell!
IRV
I have some stock examples that I use that make the connections with daily life. Things like airline fleet scheduling and crew scheduling: optimization decides which particular plane you fly on. That usually gives them a connection to how things are going.
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