fuzzy logic

Definition

Type of reasoning based on the recognition that logical statements are not only true or false (white or black areas of probability) but can also range from 'almost certain' to 'very unlikely' (gray areas of probability). Software based on application of fuzzy-logic (as compared with that based on Formal Logic) allows computers to mimic human reasoning more closely, so that decisions can be made with incomplete or uncertain data. The concept is based on the work of Polish mathematician Jan Lukasiewicz (1878-1956) and was developed by the Azerbaijani-Iranian computer scientist Dr. Lotfi A. Zadeh (born 1921) who coined the term 'fuzzy logic' in 1965 while working at the Berkeley campus of the University Of California.