Behavioral Ecology
Lévy Flight
A random walk pattern characterized by many short moves interspersed with occasional long jumps. The step lengths follow a heavy-tailed distribution, making large moves more common than in Brownian motion.
Biological Context
Many foraging animals use Lévy flights: mostly local search with occasional long-distance moves to find new resource patches. This strategy is optimal when resources are sparse and unpredictably distributed. Albatrosses, sharks, and even human hunter-gatherers show Lévy-like movement patterns.
Business Application
Lévy-like search strategies in business: mostly incremental improvements (local search) with occasional bold pivots or expansions (long jumps). Effective when good opportunities are rare and unpredictably located.