Mutation

With small probability, randomly alter 1 bit

Minor operator

An insurance policy against lost bits, pushes out of local minima

    Population:               Goal:

      1 1 0 0 0 0               0 1 1 1 1 1
      1 0 1 0 0 0
      1 0 0 1 0 0             Mutation needed to find the goal
      0 1 0 0 0 0