So we learned that in standard minimization we have to find its dual, which will be the maximization of the problem.
But what if we have to find the dual of a maximization problem? Then we will have to find its minimization, then back to maximization again (since in order to find the standard min you need to find the dual)? What is the point of this, im so confused
Given a maximization problem, the point of finding the dual problem is usually to show the upper bound condition for the primal optimal value.
Sometimes the primal and dual have exactly the same optimal values, this is called strong duality. In this case, we can find the optimal value of the primal problem, by solving the dual problem.
For example, consider the famous Max-Flow problem of finding a maximum value of a flow through a network. This problem can be trivially transformed, by associating each constraint with a variable, and each variable with a constraint, into a dual problem of finding a minimum cut of a network, called Min-Cut problem. Example is in the figure below:
Every cut gives an upper bound on the value of the maximum flow. Furthermore, the maximum flow value equals the minimum cut capacity.