Heaven in a Chip: Fuzzy Visions of Society and Science in the Digital Age

Fuzzy thinking means acknowledging that the universe is really shades of gray. This may seem like common sense, but all of our math and science and a lot of our culture is based on the black and white logic laid down by Aristotle three thousand years ago. In Fuzzy Thinking Dr. Kosko explained the scientific principle of fuzzy logic and how it led to emminently practical smart machines that now run everything from air conditioners to cars. Kosko’s “The Fuzzy Future” begins where Fuzzy Thinking leaves off, demonstrating how fuzziness impacts our daily politics, art, and culture, in addition to its scientific uses. Readers will be introduced to the colorful, mind-expanding applications of fuzziness to such popular topics as: tax forms, the abortion debate (can we be a little bit pregnant?), property lines and land rights, smart missiles, neural networks, the bell curve, mind melding, cloning the works of great artists, smart drugs, cryonics, and our potential for immortality (storing our brains in microchips). The introduction lays out the basic principles of fuzzy logic so that it is not necessary to have read the previous book. Kosko’s lucid text is interwoven with anecdote and real world examples.