_Fuzzy Logic_ is a first-rate popular-science book, and parts of it are brilliant. There's nothing fuzzy about the writing here. The book contains the only clear, short, complete philosophical and historical introduction to probability theory I have ever encountered. If you need a quick rundown on the difference between objective probability and Bayesian, here's where you'll get it.
The concern with trade wars and the Japanese technological "threat" didn't amuse me so much. I suspect the authors threw in that junk to please the publisher. A non-political account of fuzzy applications and future possibilities would have done just as well.
The authors scarcely glance at the philosophical, ethical, and political implications of fuzzy logic. That's not so surprising, since that would demand a shelf of books. But they do provide persuasive arguments to disarm the ethical zealot. And more important, perhaps, we can now point to actual mechanical applications that will serve as physical models for ethical flexibility.
_Fuzzy Logic_, by Daniel McNeill and Paul Freiburger, $22.00, Simon & Schuster: +1 (212) 698 7541.
STREET CRED
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A Good Fuzzy Read
