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Who draws the line in the digital age? Those
with the most power? Does the digital age even have black-and-white
parameters? Where does one country's Internet jurisdiction
end and another country's begin? Who owns the ocean or the
moon -- or even you? Would you be you if a chip replaced
your brain?
Fuzzy logic has been the most explosive
new concept in science since chaos theory. Now, Bart Kosko,
the leading proponent of this revolutionary worldview, tackles
these questions and shows how fuzzy thinking will shape
every aspect of life in the digital age, from politics and
genetics, to warfare and technology and art, and finally
to mortality itself. The Fuzzy Future starts with a self-contained
explanation of fuzzy logic and then explores how shades
of gray, or fuzz, will change how we vote, pay taxes, fund
science, shop on the Internet, view abortion, have children,
fish the oceans, wage "smart" wars or create "smart"
art, raise machine IQs, invest money, view black holes,
and confide in our software agents. It also shows us how
we may someday challenge death in the digital immortality
of a nanochip. Today camcorders, Internet spam filters,
nuclear power plants, and the new Volkswagen Beetle depend
on fuzzy logic. Tomorrow we may too because the future is
fuzzy.
Bart Kosko is the author of Fuzzy
Thinking and Nanotime, as well as several other
books. He is on the faculty of the department of electrical
engineering at the University of Southern California and
holds degrees in philosophy, economics, mathematics, and
engineering. He writes for several media outlets, lectures
widely on science and society, and is an award-winning composer.
He lives in Los Angeles.
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