Trial and error

Trial and error is a fundamental method of problem solving. It is characterised by repeated, varied attempts which are continued until success, or until the practicer stops trying.The trial and error approach is used most successfully with simple problems and in games, and it is often the last resort when no apparent rule applies. This does not mean that the approach is inherently careless, for an individual can be methodical in manipulating the variables in an attempt to sort through possibilities which could result in success. Nevertheless, this method is often used by people who have little knowledge in the problem area. The trial-and-error approach has been studied from its natural computational point of view Trial and error has a number of features:Trial and error has traditionally been the main method of finding new drugs, such as antibiotics. Chemists simply try chemicals at random until they find one with the desired effect. In a more sophisticated version, chemists select a narrow range of chemicals it is thought may have some effect using a technique called structure-activity relationship. (The latter case can be alternatively considered as a changing of the problem rather than of the solution strategy: instead of 'What chemical will work well as an antibiotic?' the problem in the sophisticated approach is 'Which, if any, of the chemicals in this narrow range will work well as an antibiotic?') The method is used widely in many disciplines, such as polymer technology to find new polymer types or families.