Throughout the ages, man has continuously been involved with the process of optimization. In its earliest form, optimization consisted of unscientific rituals and prejudices like pouring libations and sacrificing animals to the gods, consulting the oracles, observing the positions of the stars, and watching the flight of birds. When the circumstances were appropriate, the timing was thought to be auspicious (or optimum) for planting the crops or embarking on a war. As the ages advanced and the age of reason prevailed, unscientific rituals were replaced by rules of thumb and later, with the development of mathematics, mathematical calculations began to be applied.