Just ran across an interesting new (at least to me) family of algorithms for finding optimal solutions, similar to like fuzzy logic and neural net, yet simpler and faster.  Its called Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO).  An introductory paper can be found here.  I also found a book on the subject: Swarm Intelligence by James Kennedy, Russell C. Eberhart, with Yuhui Shi.

I just love discovering little gems like this.  It could come in handy in many situations.  Enjoy.