This paper examines the following statements about heuristic search, which are commonly held to be true:   More accurate heuristics result in fewer node expansions by A* and IDA*.  A* does fewer node expansions than any other equally informed algorithm that finds optimal solutions.   Any admissible heuristic can be turned into a consistent heuristic by a simple technique called  pathmax.   In search spaces whose operators all have the same cost A* with the heuristic function h(s)=0 for all states, s, is the same as breadth-first search.  Bidirectional A* stops when the forward and backward search frontiers meet.  The paper demonstrates that all these statements are false and provides alternative statements that are true.
['Robert C. Holte']
Common Misconceptions Concerning Heuristic Search