NK LANDSCAPE
Landscape A
smooth
N (genes):
10
K (epistasis):
1
Landscape B
rugged
N (genes):
10
K (epistasis):
5
Population
Pop size:
20
Mutation rate:
0.05
Reset Populations
Pause
Smooth (low K)
Rugged (high K)
Individual
A: gen 0
B: gen 0
NK model: N genes, each affected by K epistatic partners. Low K → smooth, single-peaked landscape (easy to climb). High K → rugged, many local optima (evolution gets trapped). Modularity (K=0) maximizes evolvability.