ERIC Number: EJ1115933
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Oct
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1932-6246
EISSN: N/A
Minimal Paths in the City Block: Human Performance on Euclidean and Non-Euclidean Traveling Salesperson Problems
Walwyn, Amy L.; Navarro, Daniel J.
Journal of Problem Solving, v3 n1 Article 5 p93-105 Oct 2010
An experiment is reported comparing human performance on two kinds of visually presented traveling salesperson problems (TSPs), those reliant on Euclidean geometry and those reliant on city block geometry. Across multiple array sizes, human performance was near-optimal in both geometries, but was slightly better in the Euclidean format. Even so, human solutions varied systematically across geometries, with the differences reflecting sensible adaptations to the different distance structures that these geometries imply. These results suggest that human near-optimality for visually presented TSPs may apply to a more general class of problems than the standard Euclidean case.
Descriptors: Problem Solving, Mathematical Applications, Graphs, Geometry, Performance, Adults, Undergraduate Students, Foreign Countries
Purdue University Press. Stewart Center Room 370, 504 West State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907. Tel: 800-247-6553; Fax: 419-281-6883; e-mail: pupress@purdue,edu; Web site: http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/jps/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A