Optimization
📋 What it is
Optimization finds the BEST option — the shortest path, lowest cost, or most value within the rules.
🗣️ Coach says
Sometimes escaping isn’t about IF but the BEST way — the shortest route, the fewest moves, the most treasure under a weight limit. Optimization asks “what’s the best possible?” Greedy grabbing often fails; you weigh trade-offs.
🧠 Memory hook
Optimization = the BEST option, not just A working one. Weigh the trade-offs.
😂 Giggle
Why was the sequence puzzle so predictable?
Because it always followed a pattern!
😲 Whoa!
Delivery companies save millions by optimizing routes — the “travelling salesman problem” (shortest route visiting every stop) is so hard that even supercomputers can’t solve huge ones exactly.
✅ Quick check: You can carry 10 kg. Which is better: a 9 kg item worth 5, or two 5 kg items worth 4 each?
Say your answer out loud first — then reveal.
The two 5 kg items — together 10 kg and worth 8, beating the single item’s 5. Weigh value against the limit.
Optimization compares total value within the constraint, not the biggest single item.
🧪 Try it! (2 minutes)
With a “10-point backpack,” pick items of different weights/values to get the MOST value. Try two combos.