# Variable substitution in optimisation: a paradox

Given an optimisation problem of the form $\min_{x,y} \{f(x,y) = g(x) + h(y), g(x) = \alpha y\}$, where $\alpha \neq 0$, can we equivalently solve the problem $\min_{x,y} \{\alpha y + h(y)\}$?

This question was published in Harvey J. Greenberg’s “Myths and Counterexamples in Mathematical Programming,” which can be found online (see NLP Myth 5). The author points out to:

D. M. Bloom. FFF #34. The shortest distance from a point to a parabola. The College Mathematics Journal, 22(2):131, 1991,

where Bloom addresses the simple problem of determining the shortest distance between the point $(0,5)$ on the plane and the parabola $16y = x^2$.

A simple sketch reveals that the unique minimiser of this problem is the point $(0,0)$ and the distance is equal to 5.

The original problem, using the squared distance, is

\begin{aligned} \mathrm{minimise}_{x,y}\, &x^2 + (y-5)^2,\\ &\text{s.t.}\, 16y = x^2. \end{aligned}

Now if we simply substitute $x^2$ by $y$ we get the problem

\begin{aligned} \mathrm{minimise}_{y}\, &y + (y-5)^2. \end{aligned}

However, in doing so we have dropped the requirement that $y\geq 0$. This leads to the “paradox” that the solution of the second problem is $y=-3$ which corresponds to an imaginary x-coordinate.

The correct way to go is, of course, to use the KKT conditions of the original problems to determine its critical points.

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