Fuzzy Logic: The Revolutionary Computer Technology that Is Changing Our World

by Daniel McNeill and Paul Freiberger

Book Overview

From Simon & Schuster, Fuzzy Logic is about the revolutionary computer technology that is changing our world. Fuzzy logic is a way to program computers so that they can mimic the imprecise way that... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0671875353
• Release Date: April 1994
• Publisher: Touchstone / Simon & Schuster
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

A must read - The History of a revolutionary technology

"Imagine a technology so revolutionary that it gives computers the ability to make decisions more like human beings" This is a book about the history of this technology, but be aware this is not an academic, scientific or engineering book. An excellent reading if you like to know a little bit about the behind the scenes, the lives, and stories that surround the development of this fascinating technology. Fuzzy logic is a technology so great, that in my opinion, it single handed advanced the science of artificial intelligence, in a way that it wouldn't have been possible without the concepts that support Fuzzy Logic. As Earl Cox Said: "If you are curious about fuzzy logic, buy this book. If you are working with fuzzy logic, buy this book. If you have never heard about fuzzy logic, buy this book....The Rosetta Stone of fuzzy logic". Again,...be aware....this is not an academic, scientific or engineering book about mathematics or logics. Its just a Hot science book about the history of Fuzzy Logic.

Learn a way to make computers more

Classical logic forces all actions to be described by a rigid sequence of two option rules. By applying enough such rules, it is possible to eventually reach a reasonable approximation to the problem in question. However, such a method is cumbersome at best, so in 1964, Lotfi Zadeh, a professor of electrical engineering, invented a new reasoning system base on imprecise rules. Since the values are now placed within specified ranges, the system was given the unfortunate name "fuzzy ." Eventually ignored and at times vilified by the academic community in the United States, fuzzy logic is now beginning to be widely used in commercial products.In another instance of what seems to be the most common business theme of the decade of the '80s, it was Japanese industry that took the American ideas and made them commercially viable. Many products now incorporate fuzzy reasoning systems, with no end in sight regarding the spectrum of applications. The performance gains of fuzzy logic over other options is at times astounding.Equally surprising is the simplicity of fuzzy reasoning. Most events in the human experience are not sharply demarcated. Night does not "fall," but slowly floats down like an aging helium balloon. Fuzzy systems mimic this by assigning a numeric value to qualifying words such as "very ," "slightly ," and "remotely ." The most common scale uses the range from zero to one inclusive. Since zero can be considered FALSE and one TRUE, classical logic is a limiting subset of fuzzy logic. For example, the phrase "very possible" could be assigned a truth value of 0.90, "slightly possible" a value of 0.05, and "remotely possible" a value of 0.005. Fuzzy OR then takes the largest value of the two variable, AND the minimum of the two and the negation is computed by taking one minus the fuzzy value.This book introduces the basic notions of fuzziness, but concentrates more on the history as an ignored discipline and the recent commercial successes. It is amazing to learn that the vast majority of "fuzzy thinkers" are found in Asia. Comparisons between the differences in Western and Eastern philosophy are made in an attempt to explain this. For example, the Japanese language is inherently much more vague than western languages.If you are interested in learning the first notions of fuzzy reasoning, this book is a good non-technical place to start. And if the applications continue to grow, that interest may become a required taste.Published in Journal of Recreational Mathematics, reprinted with permission.

History and Philosophy of Fuzzy Logic

'Fuzzy Logic: A Revolutionary Computer Technology that is changing our world', a book by Daniel McNeill and Paul Freiberger, is all about the history and philosophy of fuzzy logic. This book was written nearly a decade from now and the main body consists of 275 pages of text (pp. 9 to 283). It took me 2 weeks to finish reading this book since I underlined important terms, concepts, and names of the people who contributed to the development of fuzzy logic. Without underlining, I think anyone can read this book in less than a week. The book has the following advantages and disadvantages:Advantages:1. It has quotations from famous people at the beginning of each chapter.2. It is comprehensive.3. It has been a major source of reference of most websites on fuzzy logic.4. It is lightweight and measures approximately 7' x 5' inches.Disadvantages:1. It contains only a few diagrams.2. It is monochromatic (lacks color).3. It is generally non-technical.I understand its predominantly non-technical approach (3rd disadvantage) because I assumed that there has been a lack of English technical references for fuzzy logic in the early 90's. Therefore, these are my comments/suggestions:Comments/Suggestions:1. I suggest that the authors revise the book to include 2 parts: a. Fuzzy Logic: History and Philosophy b. Fuzzy Logic: Concepts and Applications2. The revised version should include more mathematical diagrams/models, sample problems with solutions, and exercises with odd-numbered solutions.3. The revised version should include technical references such as 'Heaven in a Chip: Fuzzy Visions of Society and Science in the Digital Age' by Bart Kosko, 'Learning and Soft Computing: Support Vector Machines, Neural Networks, and Fuzzy Logic Models' by Vojislav Kecman, 'Genetic Fuzzy Systems: Evolutionary Tuning and Learning of Fuzzy Knowledge Bases' by Oscar Cordon, 'Fuzzy Engineering' by Bart Kosko, and Fuzzy Logic and Neuro Fuzzy Applications Explained' by Constantin Von Altrock.4. The revised version should include sample applications with simulation using free downloadable fuzzy logic software/program from the internet such as FuzzyLib 2.0 and Simple Inference Engine 1.0 which are currently both available...

THIS BOOK IS THE BEST START IN FUZZY LOGIC UNDERSTANDING

THE BOOK IS VERY CLEAR IN EXPLAYING PHILOSOPHICAL CONCEPTS, YOU CAN UNDERSTAND VERY QUICKLY THE ESCENTIALS OF WHAT FUZZY LOGIC MEANS, ALSO THE BOOK EVOLVES FROM PHILOSOPHIC AND THEORICAL EXPLANATIONS TO TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENTS BASED ON FUZZY LOGIC. THE BOOK ALSO NARRATES THE PAINFULL WAY THAT FUZZY FORERUNNERS SUFFER IN ORDER TO BECOME FUZZY LOGIC IN A VERY STRONG TOOL FOR ENGINEERING AND OTHER FIELDS. THE LAST PART OF THE BOOK EXPLAIN THE CONCEPT OF NEUROFUZZY CONTROLLERS THAT IS A NEW HOPE FOR ENGINEERS WHO WANT TO CREATE NEW MORE POWERFULL MACHINES AT VERY LOW COST AND TO MUCH EASIER. THIS BOOK IS THE BEST "FIRST STEP" IN FUZZY LOGIC UNDERSTANDING

All the acclaims on the back are true!

This is not a technical book on fuzzy logic that tells you how to be a fuzzy logic expert, but you feel as though you were one by the time you put down this book. It follows the historical development (birth, misfortunes, unlikely surge, etc.) of this new paradigm. Basic concepts are also given in plain English.