No-free-lunch-theorem: a page taken from the computational intelligence for water resources planning and management

Abstract

The long pursuit to alleviate the global water crisis has been riddled with revolutionary decision-making paradigms, forward-thinking theoretical concepts, and even ground-breaking technologies. This journey, however, is centered around the expectation of discovering what could be seen as the ultimate solution to all water-related problems. These nuances, revolutionary ideas, and cutting-edge technologies raise an ostensibly simple but fundamentally crucial question: Is there or can there ever be a singular universal ideal solution to address the water resources crisis that can potentially ensure the ideas of the sustainable development paradigm? This paper tends to take inspiration from the well-established no-free-lunch theorem (NFLT) to refute the possibility of such a solution in the context of water resources management. Such an interpretation also emphasizes that any remedy intended to address water resources issues must be tailored to the particular circumstances of each case. However, it should be noted that these findings are not intended to undermine the importance of current approaches but rather to emphasize how these concepts or technologies should be used as an inspiration to curate an ad hoc version of the said solution that can reflect local requirements or constraints.

Keywords: Computational intelligence; No-free-lunch theorem; Sustainable development; Water resources planning and management.