Fuzzy Logic: The Revolutionary Computer Technology That Is Changing Our WorldFuzzy Logic is an eye-opening book - an exciting tour of a high-tech world where visionary computer scientists are inventing the future, and a disturbing lesson in shortsighted business practices. Imagine tossing your laundry into a "fuzzy" washing machine, pushing a button, and leaving thc machine to do the rest, from measuring out detergent to choosing a wash temperature. Imagine a microwave oven that watches over meals with more sensitivity than a human cook. Imagine a subway system that stops and starts so smoothly that passengers don't bother holding on to straps. Futuristic fantasy? No. In Japan, this is reality - and it's starting to explode into our marketplace. Lotfi Zadeh, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley, invented fuzzy logic in 1964. Conventional logic divides the world into yes and no, black and white. Fuzzy logic deals in shades of gray. It can thus make computers think like people. But when Zadeh tried to sell his idea to the American academic community and to American companies, he met with ridicule and scorn. Only the Japanese saw the logic of fuzzy logic, and soon such companies as Matsushita and Sony will earn billions selling it back to us. And they will have a head start on the dazzling future possibilities of fuzzy logic: software that predicts the stock market based on the daily news, cars that drive themselves, sex robots with a humanlike repertoire of behavior, computers that understand and respond to normal human language, and molecule-size soldiers of health that roam the bloodstream, killing cancer cells and slowing the aging process. Fuzzy Logic is the compelling tale of this remarkable new technology and the fascinating people who made it happen. It is also the story of what it took for American business to catch on to fuzzy logic - and how it will soon affect the lives of every one of us |
Contents
PROLOGUE | 9 |
THE COCAINE OF SCIENCE | 45 |
THE ARAGO FACTOR | 65 |
THE SHARP MIRAGE | 82 |
FUZZY ENGINE FUZZY INFERNO | 101 |
THE VAGUE ARCHIPELAGO | 127 |
AMERICAN SAMURAI | 192 |
FUZZY DELPHI | 209 |
WEBS OF COGNITION | 228 |
14 | 257 |
BIBLIOGRAPHY | 297 |
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algorithms American applications approach Aristotle automatically Bart Kosko basic Bayesian probability began brain called chair Cheeseman Cognitive color complex system crisp set database degree Dennis Lindley developed device electrical electronics engineers expert systems fact firms fuzzy chip fuzzy computer fuzzy control fuzzy expert systems fuzzy logic fuzzy sets fuzzy systems fuzzy theory George Klir Holmblad human instance intersection Japan Japanese Journal Judea Pearl Kalman Kalman filter kiln Klir Kosko says language long river Lotfi Zadeh Łukasiewicz machine Mamdani math mathematical Matsushita membership Michio Sugeno Mitsubishi Moreover MYCIN neural nets neural networks Omron Østergaard paper paradigm patterns percent precise pressure error problem professor prototype reasoning robot Rosch rules scholars Science scientists sensor set theory Sets and Systems simple subset subway Takagi tall theorem theorists things Togai true uncertainty United University vagueness words Yamakawa