Where's Wally? Don't worry, a new algorithm can now tell you exactly how to find him in the shortest time possible.
Developed by Randal Olson, doctoral student at Michigan State University in the US, the algorithm was created using data collected from all 68 of Martin Handford's Where's Wally? books, or Where's Waldo?, as they're called in the US and Canada
To do this, he inputted all his data on the location of Wally into a genetic algorithm (GA), which mimics natural selection to find the most efficient method of doing something by trialling something slightly different over and over again. This helped him to optimise the fastest route that someone's eye should take across the page to find Wally.
The algorithm also came up with a few helpful tips for all those Wally-watchers out there desperate to find him quickly.
The bottom of the left page is a good place to start. If Wally isn’t on the bottom half of the left page, then he’s probably not on the left page at all.
The upper quarter of the right page is the next best place to look. Wally seems to prefer to hide on the upper quarter of the right page.
Next check the bottom right half of the right page. Wally also has an aversion to the bottom left half of the right page. Don’t bother looking there until you’ve exhausted the other hot spots.
Olson is yet to test the algorithm-prescribed path in “This path represents one of the shortest possible paths to follow on the page to find Waldo, so if we followed this path exactly, we’d most likely find Waldo much faster than someone following a more basic technique,” Olson wrote.
Read more : http://www.sciencealert.com/a-computer-algorithm-can-now-solve-where-s-wally-faster-than-you-can
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