Metaheuristics—the metaphor exposed

Abstract In recent years, the field of combinatorial optimization has witnessed a true tsunami of “novel” metaheuristic methods, most of them based on a metaphor of some natural or man‐made process. The behavior of virtually any species of insects, the flow of water, musicians playing together – it seems that no idea is too far‐fetched to serve as inspiration to launch yet another metaheuristic. In this paper, we will argue that this line of research is threatening to lead the area of metaheuristics away from scientific rigor. We will examine the historical context that gave rise to the increasing use of metaphors as inspiration and justification for the development of new methods, discuss the reasons for the…