DYNAMIC-PROGRAMMING AND THE BACKPACKERS LINEAR SEARCH PROBLEM

A backpacker approaches a road with a marker on it, desirous of finding the marker but having only a rough idea of where it is located. It is well known among backpackers that it is best to aim either right or left of the marker, since otherwise it will not be clear which way to turn upon reaching the road. The problem of deciding exactly where to aim can be formalized as a modification of the Linear Search Problem. This paper does so, and also discusses dynamic programming as a solution method.