To be clear, it summarizes the size of the initial population plus all offsprings calculated since the start. Please apologize for my being too lazy to translate the applet. It helps to find solutions for problems that cannot be calculated, but have to be searched by trial and error. To multiplicate two numbers, for example, there is an efficient algorithm, so no body will ever test all numbers between 1 and 10000 to find the result of 13 times 85 . In other words, one has to test the candidates one after the other.
GAs are a technique made available by the computer and being investigated intensively.
They could be better suited for certain problems than existing algorithms. Like this, nobody can imagine the function of a GA in such a search-space. The applet runs such a GA and illustrates its function. P at the lower part of its incline is raised to let's say a height of 30. The procedure terminates when the pyramids reach a given lower limit in their height.