Run the simulated annealing algorithm discussed in class. You can choose your own cooling schedule (linear vs. exponential), but you should vary at least two things over your experiments: cooling rate (that is, how long you stay at each temperature, and how large a cooling step you make), and also the neighborhood structure. Try the following 3 neighborhoods: vary 1 variable only, vary 1 or 2 variables (equal probability of one or two, then pick one or two uniformly), or the latter plus the "complement" big change possibility. (Let the big change happen with small probability, but you play with it a bit.)
One fact I forgot to mention in class: the time you stay at each temperature may not be the same. For instance, one suggestion is that at each temperature, you might stay at that temperature for the same number of successful moves, instead of just the same number of attempts. You might want to be a bit flexible for that, but it may make sense to stay at cooler temperatures longer, since you move more slowly in the state space for those temperatures.
As mentioned in class, it is also worthwhile to keep track of the best answer you see during your search of the solution space, in case you don't happen to end up there. It may also be worth running the experiment several different times, from different inital assignments, instead of further slowing your cooling schedule.
I am leaving this assignment fairly open in terms of how much work you do. At the least, you should code a basic simulated annealing program and play with one file a bit, and give a report on its output. If you want to do more than that, I will allow the assignment to count as multiple homeworks, in case you are trying to make up for past homework performance. In this case, your findings should be presented in a format which quickly conveys them. If you have been doing well in homework thus far, you may choose to do very little for this assignment, unless you find it to be fun. If you are looking for some way to do "extra credit", this a chance for something similar.