Genetic Algorithm: 2D Fitness Contour Map

A genetic algorithm searches for good solutions the same way a population of organisms searches a real terrain: many individuals, each scored by a fitness function, compete and recombine generation after generation until the population converges on high ground. This simulator renders that search as a topographic contour map — a real fitness field built from overlapping Gaussian peaks, drawn as a pixel heatmap with traced iso-fitness contour lines, with a population of genotypes rendered as dots that climb it under selection, blend crossover and Gaussian mutation. A live strip chart tracks best and mean fitness across generations. Switch between a rugged six-peak landscape (where premature convergence to a local optimum is likely) and a smoother two-peak one, tune mutation rate, mutation strength and tournament size, and watch live readouts for generation count, best and mean fitness, and population diversity to see the exploration/exploitation trade-off play out in real time.