In scientific disciplines, a toy problem
or a puzzlelike problem
is a problem that is not of immediate scientific interest, yet is used as an expository device to illustrate a trait that may be shared by other, more complicated, instances of the problem, or as a way to explain a particular, more general, problem solving technique. A toy problem is useful to test and demonstrate methodologies. Researchers can use toy problems to compare the performance of different
algorithm
In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm () is a finite sequence of Rigour#Mathematics, mathematically rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific Computational problem, problems or to perform a computation. Algo ...
s. They are also good for
game design
Game design is the process of creating and shaping the mechanics, systems, rules, and gameplay of a game. Game design processes apply to board games, card games, dice games, casino games, role-playing games, sports, Wargame (video games), war ga ...
ing.
For instance, while engineering a large system, the large problem is often broken down into many smaller toy problems which have been well understood in detail. Often these problems distill a few important aspects of complicated problems so that they can be studied in isolation. Toy problems are thus often very useful in providing intuition about specific phenomena in more complicated problems.
As an example, in the field of
artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
, classical puzzles, games and problems are often used as toy problems. These include
sliding-block puzzles,
N-Queens problem
The eight queens puzzle is the problem of placing eight chess queens on an 8×8 chessboard so that no two queens threaten each other; thus, a solution requires that no two queens share the same row, column, or diagonal. There are 92 solutions. ...
,
missionaries and cannibals problem,
tic-tac-toe
Tic-tac-toe (American English), noughts and crosses (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), or Xs and Os (Canadian English, Canadian or Hiberno-English, Irish English) is a paper-and-pencil game for two players who ta ...
,
chess
Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...
,
and others.
See also
*
Blocks world
The blocks world is a planning domain in artificial intelligence. It consists of a set of wooden blocks of various shapes and colors sitting on a table. The goal is to build one or more vertical stacks of blocks. Only one block may be moved at ...
*
Firing squad synchronization problem
The firing squad synchronization problem is a problem in computer science and cellular automaton, cellular automata in which the goal is to design a cellular automaton that, starting with a single active cell, eventually reaches a state in which ...
*
Monkey and banana problem
The monkey and banana problem is a famous toy problem in artificial intelligence, particularly in logic programming and planning.
Formulation of the problem
A monkey is in a room. Suspended from the ceiling is a bunch of bananas, beyond the monke ...
*
Secretary problem
The secretary problem demonstrates a scenario involving optimal stopping theory For French translation, secover storyin the July issue of ''Pour la Science'' (2009). that is studied extensively in the fields of applied probability, statistics, a ...
References
External links
*
Mathematics education
{{math-stub
Recreational mathematics
Data science
Artificial intelligence
Data mining