As it becomes routine to computationally characterize the reactivity of a given set of reactants, the next challenge is developing efficient algorithms for selecting reactants to characterize. Combining The analysis of HMF formation pathways, in particular, revealed many newly reported pathways with overall and absolute barriers as low as ∼ 30 kcal/mol that challenge existing mechanistic proposals. The most surprising aspect of these results is the extreme simplicity of using the overall barrier as a cost function, contrasted with the subtlety of the new pathways proposed by the algorithm. The success of this remarkably simple exploration policy suggests that general purpose exploration policies are both possible and likely simpler than anticipated.