Fuzzy Logic; July 1993; Scientific American Magazine; by Bart Kosko and Satoru Isaka; 6 Page(s)

Computers do not reason as brains do. Computers "reason" when they manipulate precise facts that have been reduced to strings of zeros and ones and statements that are either true or false. The human brain can reason with vague assertions or claims that involve uncertainties or value judgments: "The air is cool," or "That speed is fast" or "She is young." Unlike computers, humans have common sense that enables them to reason in a world where things are only partially true.

Fuzzy logic is a branch of machine intelligence that helps computers paint gray, commonsense pictures of an uncertain world. Logicians in the 1920s first broached its key concept: everything is a matter of degree.