FUZZY LOGIC

It takes conscious reasoning to conceive of the principles and to apply them. Surely, the acts of perception and definition are subjective--are fuzzy--yet we find application for them. Take the notions of straight lines. None really exist in our three-dimensional universe--you cannot have one-dimensional, two-dimensional, nor anything other than three-dimensional properties in a three-dimensional universe. But straight lines are everywhere. Are they?

It is limitations in perceptive and interpretive ability that lead to the lazy acceptance of notions like the existence of straight lines being fact, simply because we have found a way to apply the abstract conception of them in a practical way.

Kosko is really onto something with his bold attempts at reinterpreting how we should view our universe. As one who works in the field of computer science, he surely enjoys the irony of living in an age where the hardware is so nuts and bolts Aristotelian, but the software is embracing principles like chaos and fuzziness.

JEFF SOFTLEY, Los Angeles