Linear Programming, the Secret Sauce - XII

The way linear programming is taught in +2 is quite algorithmic — if you get this result, then you do this, if not, then this. You are given a step-by-step instruction on how to solve a linear programming problem, how to maximize, and how to minimize an objective function given certain constraints.

There is, without a doubt, more going on to it than what meets the eye at first glance. If you remember, in Grade 10, you must have studied a chapter with the same name in the Optional Mathematics course, only, that way of coming up with the solution was purely graphical, and honestly, that way of solving really does give us a clearer understanding of what’s really going on under the hood than the plain old’ simplex method that we’re taught in Grade XII.

So, you ask me, what’s the Secret Sauce? Well, let me save your time and mine too. The following is a video that’ll guide you through what’s really going on within the Simplex method of solving Linear Programming Problems.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E72DWgKP_1Y

I will be editing this post to show side by side the comparison with the graphical method, the one shown in the video, and the Simplex Method that we are taught as part of the NEB XII Syllabus. [ Note that the simplex method that is shown in the video might be a little different, but the fundamentals are the same. But I still do think that drawing a comparison might be necessary for everyone to understand. ]

Until then, my dear friends, ciao.