Patent ID: 8909570

Claim:
A computer-implemented data mining system, for use with a data mining training database containing training data, comprising: a memory storing a candidate gene database having a pool of candidate individuals, each candidate individual identifying a plurality of conditions and at least one corresponding proposed output in dependence upon the conditions, each candidate individual further having associated therewith an indication of a respective fitness estimate, and an indication of a respective testing experience level; a gene pool processor which: tests individuals from the candidate gene pool on the training data, each individual being tested undergoing a respective battery of at least one trial and thereby increasing the individual's testing experience level, each trial applying the conditions of the respective individual to the training data to propose an output, and updates the fitness estimate associated with each of the individuals being tested in dependence upon both the training data and the outputs proposed by the respective individual in the battery of trials; and a gene harvesting module providing for deployment selected ones of the individuals from the gene pool, wherein the gene pool processor includes a competition module which selects individuals for discarding from the gene pool in dependence upon both their updated fitness estimate and their testing experience level, including a first instance of considering a subject individual for discarding in dependence upon both its fitness estimate and its testing experience level, and a second instance of considering the subject individual for discarding in dependence upon both its fitness estimate and its testing experience level, and wherein the second instance occurs after the subject individual has more testing experience than at the first instance.