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A linguistic variable is defined as a variable whose values are sentences in a natural or artificial language.

— Lotfi A. Zadeh Outline of a new approach to the analysis of complex systems and decision processes (1973)

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More quotes by Lotfi A. Zadeh

The question really isn't whether I'm American, Russian, Iranian, Azerbaijani, or anything else. I've been shaped by all these people and cultures and I feel quite comfortable among all of them.

Zadeh (1994)

To what degree is something true or false?

A linguistic variable is a variable whose values are words or sentences in a natural or synthetic language.

Outline of a new approach to the analysis of complex systems and decision processes (1973)

In general, complexity and precision bear an inverse relation to one another in the sense that, as the complexity of a problem increases, the possibility of analysing it in precise terms diminishes. Thus 'fuzzy thinking' may not be deplorable, after all, if it makes possible the solution of problems which are much too complex for precise analysis.

Zadeh (1972)

Essentially, a fuzzy algorithm is an ordered sequence of instructions (like a computer program) in which some of the instructions may contain labels or fuzzy sets, e.g.:
Reduce x slightly if y is very large
Increase x very slightly if y is not very large and not very small
If x is small then stop; otherwise increase x by 2.

Outline of a new approach to the analysis of complex systems and decision processes (1973)

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