How does best-first search suffer from plateau and local maxima?

Question

I understand that this particular algorithm suffers from these issues, however when I am researching the actual meanings of each one I can not grasp the concept. Can someone please explain how these are problems and whether 'Ridges and Alleys' affects it to.

Here is a related question which you may also find useful: What are the problems associated to Best First Search in Artificial intelligence?

Answer 1

Consider yourself traversing a landscape, trying to get to the highest peak. With BFS, your only rule is to go up. What happens if you get to the top of a small hill? Where do you go if you reach level ground?