(Disney Meets Darwin)
7 Genotype/Phenotype
The genes determining morphology and motion
in these figures can be interactively tweaked to reveal their effects
in real-time. Some genes influence features which are relatively
salient and can be used in an instructional manner. Other genes
control obscure aspects of the figure or interact with other genes
in complex ways and cannot be explored intuitively. All of the genes
for one figure comprise the genotype, while the figure itself - as
observable animated object - is the associated phenotype. In genetic
algorithms, the phenotype is the expression of the genotype, and its
success determines the genotype's survivability. Figure 4 illustrates
this dual representation - the phenotype is the representation which is
evaluated, and the genotype is the representation which is affected by
evaluation.
Figure 4. Two components to a representation:
genotype and phenotype
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