GALAPAGOS ON THE LOGIC AND LIMITATIONS OF GENERIC SOLVERS

摘要

Generic solvers, despite being called generic, can only be applied to a subset of all possible problems. To understand the limitations of a solver, one needs to understand both its underlying theory as well as the algorithmic representation of any given problem. These must necessarily remain somewhat abstract as the dimensionality of a problem is dependent on the chosen formulation, which is often far beyond what mere humans can visualise. It is, however, possible to explain some of the topologies of phase spaces through vernacular language by treating only low-dimensional cases, which fall within the realm of the imaginable. This article discusses the parallels between phase space topologies and computational terminology as well as how generic solvers arrive at their solutions.