Python NameError: 'initial_guess' is not defined in 'optimize.minimize'

The error 'NameError: name 'initial_guess' is not defined' pops up when using the optimize.minimize function from the scipy library in Python. This error occurs because the initial_guess variable, which is required for the optimize.minimize function to start its optimization process, hasn't been defined.

To resolve this issue, you need to define an initial guess value and pass it as an argument to the optimize.minimize function. The initial_guess should be an array containing the initial values for the parameters of your target function.

For instance:

import numpy as np
from scipy import optimize

# Define your target function
def target_function(x):
    return (x - 2) ** 2

# Set the initial guess
initial_guess = np.array([0])

# Use the optimize.minimize function with the defined initial guess
result = optimize.minimize(target_function, initial_guess, method='Nelder-Mead')

# Extract the optimized values
max_point = result.x
max_value = result.fun

# Print the results
print('Maximum point:', max_point)
print('Maximum value:', max_value)

In this example, the initial_guess is set to an array containing the value 0. Adjust the initial_guess value according to your specific target function and its parameters. Make sure the initial_guess array aligns with the dimensions of your target function's parameters.

By defining an appropriate initial_guess and passing it to the optimize.minimize function, you'll be able to successfully use the optimization function and avoid the 'NameError: name 'initial_guess' is not defined' error.