The optimization problem

A singular optimization problem remains, deceptively simple but hard to achieve. 8 billion humans roam the Earth, almost exact clones of each other, thanks to bottlenecks in the Homo-Sapien evolutionary process. Their needs are simple and the objective function simpler. Utility, perhaps proxied by happiness, need to be optimized for each. And each one of them has a time horizon that cannot be breached. The optimization is in aggregate but constrained by each human’s horizon, for after the end, the individual could not care.

Here is a problem that most scientists could not solve even if they cared. Here is a problem that most politicians could not care less about. Here is a problem the rich and powerful are less interested in and the rest do not have time to think about. But it is an interesting problem but only a few, perhaps a dozen people, ever really thought about solving. Over 120 billion humans walked the Earth since their inception, but none could solve this problem or even care about it.

But why? The mathematics appears approachable, given a single factor objective function — happiness. Granted, it is a variable that is different for each of the 8 billion samples. But the variability is limited, and the aggregate numbers are small in the grand scheme of things. The inputs are also somewhat limited, for most it is food and sex and for a selected few, money. These outliers can be safely ignored and so the problem reduces to happiness aided by food and sex for 8 billion samples. The only complication is the limited variability across the individuals and their horizons.

Could there be a solution to this problem? It certainly can be solved if the “greatest minds,” focus on it.