I found fuzzy logic on an advertisement board of a laundry saying that their washing machines use fuzzy logic. My washing machine had a button (Fuzzy) alongside (Speedy, Jean), so I thought that fuzzy meant something like woolen blankets.
Then I came across a book by Dr. Khin Mg Win (Mathematics) titled “Fuzzy Logic and Set Theory” which I bought and read. I liked it.
I browsed Wikipedia. org. By the way, when I worked abroad, I was so taken over by Wikipedia that I made a donation (not remembered the amount; years ago) over my bank account to their said account. Lately, they emailed me time and again for further donation which, unfortunately, I could not do. Lastly, he was so depressed; he said it was the last email to me. I am a bit ashamed but I could not help. Only if I were abroad…..
Fuzzy logic originated in America but Japanese scientists adopted it and used it so successfully that they are ahead of America in some sectors of industry.
The concept
This concept is vague, lacking a fixed, precise meaning without being unclear or meaningless. It is applicable to an extent and has gradations of significance or unsharp boundaries which are true to some extent like every life. Academic elites resisted the very idea of fuzzy logic in the first place.
As computer science grew, engineers, programmers, statisticians started using fuzzy logic, fuzzy values, fuzzy variables and fuzzy sets. And now your washing machine uses fuzzy logic.
What is normal blood pressure? When did you say you are febrile?
Now we know we used to speak in terms of intervals, not a single number precise terms.
Origin
Iranian-born American computer scientist Lotfi A Zadeh (1921-2017) is credited with inventing the specific idea of fuzzy concept in his 1965 paper. His vagueness theory, applied to computer engineering is irrefutable.
Applicability
Philosophy, Mathematics, Statistics
Temperature is a fuzzy variable which can lie in a range defined by some quantitative parameters. This can be usefully described with imprecise categories (such as high, medium, or low) using some kind of scale or conceptual hierarchy.
Absolutely yes is 1 and absolutely no is 0. Fuzzy logic quantifies the values between 0 and 1. And that was the area we face in everyday life.
So now, fuzzy logic is used in anything you name: traffic light, self-driving cars, robotics, video games, control systems, A.I., financial risk assessment, cement strength prediction, radars, satellites, and surveillance systems.
It looks like fuzzy logic will eventually be applied to almost every aspect of life, even if people are unaware. Fuzzy logic is an astonishingly successful invention.
Every country now has its own fuzzy systems association. The international body is the International Fuzzy Systems Association (IFSA).
< I did not know Myanmar has that type of association.>
Areas
Fuzzy areas are everywhere. Only biology and medical diagnosis will be mentioned here.
Biology
Protein complexes with multiple structural forms are called fuzzy complexes. The different conformations can result in different (even opposite) functions. The conformational ensemble is modulated by the environmental conditions. Post-translational modifications can impact ensemble and thereby the affinity or specificity of interactions.
Medical diagnosis
Assessment of patient symptoms is fuzzy because there are many possible qualitative and quantitative gradations in severity, incidence or frequency that could occur. Different symptoms may overlap. These gradations can be difficult to measure, costly in time and money but medical professionals can use approximate Fuzzy categories for judging medical or patients’ condition. It is not exact but useful enough for treatment purposes. Fuzzy logic is increasingly employed in diagnostic and medical equipment capable of measure gradations of a condition.
Communication
‘I know what you mean’ and ‘you are happy?’ Ordinary language inherently contains many fuzzy concepts. It depends partly on knowing the context (or being familiar with the way in which a term is normally used or what it is associated with).
An individual has to bridge his own intended meaning and the meanings which are understood by others. People state;’ you have to say it in a way that I understand’. Even if the message is clear and precise, it may not be received in the way it was intended.
What did you see?
Did you see a young demure lady? Did you see a hag with a crooked nose?
Medical education learners might have seen this picture more than once. I took this from Stephen T Covey’s “The 7 habits of…..” At the start of the class the teacher distributed drawings of a young lady to the students on one side and drawings of an old lady to the students on the opposite side of the aisle. They were allowed to look for 10 seconds. And they were shown this picture and had to describe what they saw. The two groups, according to Covey, came near to fighting.
He concluded that this picture is not about logic but about psychology. Preconditioned psychology had worked with the students. Liked this from the first time learned about this. This is the work of human psychology.
Two people seeing the same thing had opposing opinion and both of them are correct. So do not tell the other party that you are wrong!
So right or wrong is in the eyes of beholder?
Then, I did not know about Fuzzy logic.
Now I thought both people with opposing opinion had correct elements (gradations) and we can say that this is logical and not psychological?
Pye Aung Thet
Honorary Professor, Department of Physiology, University of Medicine 2 , Yangon
