Combinatorial problems are known to be difficult because of the shear size of the solution space and the lack of polynomial time algorithms to “solve” them. Heuristics are often devised to produce acceptable solutions in an affordable time. In this paper, we propose a method called super‐heuristic that expands the capabilities of heuristics using randomization and sampling techniques. We submit that heuristics are in general strategies that map from available information of a problem instance to decisions in solution constructions/improvement. We show that it is important to utilize the information effectively in the randomization process. More importantly, the possibility of randomization around a heuristic spells out the demarcation between the roles of human and machines in complex optimization problems.
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