I've used some Genetic Programming in the past to assist with some trading optimizations. As part of calculating the population of a new generation, I've used a concept of elitism to keep the best individuals propogating to new generations. Some researchers seem to think this is a good thing, where others think this is a bad thing. As there was no real consensus about this, I chose the side saying this is a good thing. Now that I've heard about a concept of being able to age individuals, perhaps I can modify how I build new populations somewhat.