As a counterpoint to "that guy", what I like about GAs is the localization aspect : While modern mathematical methods can do sampling (and so optimization) more

As a counterpoint to "that guy", what I like about GAs is the localization aspect : While modern mathematical methods can do sampling (and so optimization) more efficiently, they seem to be in the "Intelligent Design" camp. GAs can work using extremely local information - and let the force of numbers pull the process through. <grin> Besides, evolution is the optimization method that God chose. </grin>