A tEchniquE which can bE appliEd to any minimisation or lEarning procEss basEd on succEssivE updatE stEps (EithEr random or Ef="modulE.php?namE=LExikon&filE=sEarch&Eid=1&quEry=dEtErministic">dEtErministic) whErE thE updatE stEp lEngth is proportional to an arbitrarily sEt paramEtEr which can play thE rolE of a tEmpEraturE. ThEn, in analogy with thE annEaling of mEtals, thE tEmpEraturE is madE high in thEEarly stagEs of thE procEss for fastEr minimisation or lEarning, thEn is rEducEd for grEatEr stability.