50 Years of fuzzy: from discrete to continuous to – Where?

Abstract

Abstract. While many objects and processes in the real world are discrete, from the computational viewpoint, discrete objects and processes are much more difficult to handle than continuous ones. As a result, a continuous approximation is often a useful way to describe discrete objects and processes. We show that the need for such an approximation explains many features of fuzzy techniques, and we speculate on to which promising future directions of fuzzy research this need can lead us.Keywords: fuzzy techniques, discrete, continuous, interval-valued fuzzy, complex-valued fuzzy, computing with words, dynamical fuzzy logic, chemical kinetics, non-additive measures, symmetry Fuzzy Techniques as an Easier-to-Compute Continuous Approximation for Difficult-to-Compute Discrete Objects and ProcessesDiscrete objects and processes are ubiquitous. Many real-life objects are processes are discrete. On the macro level, there is an abrupt transition in space between physical bodies, there is an abrupt transition in time when, e.g., a glass breaks or a person changes his/her opinion. On the micro level, matter consists of discrete atoms and molecules, with abrupt transitions between different states of an atom.Continuous problems are easier to compute. While discrete objects and processes are ubiquitous in nature, from the computational viewpoint, it is often much easier to handle continuous problems. This may sound * Corresponding author. E-mail: vladik@utep.edu.counter-intuitive, since intuitively, if we restrict our search or optimization to only integer values, the problem would become easier -but it is not. For example, in the continuous case, it is relatively easy to find a solution x 1 , . . . , x n to a system of linearmany known feasible algorithms for that), the problem becomes NP-hard (computationally intractable) if we only allow discrete values of x i ; see, e.g., [9,28].Similarly, in the continuous case, it is relatively easy to find the values x 1 , . . . , x n that minimize a given quadratic function f (x 1 , . . . , x n ): it is sufficient to solve the corresponding system of linear equations ∂f ∂x i = 0. However, optimization of quadratic functions for discrete inputs, e.g., for x i ∈ {0, 1}, is NPhard [9,28]. Continuous approximations of discrete objects and processes are ubiquitous in physics. Because dealing with discrete objects and processes is often computationally complicated, physicists often approximate discrete objects with continuous ones. For example, it is not feasible to describe the changes in atmosphere by tracing all 10 23 molecules, but approximate equations that describe the atmosphere as a continuous field leads to many useful weather predictions. Similar, a solid body -in effect, a collection of atoms -is well described by a continuous density field, and an atomic nucleus -a collection of protons and neutrons -is well described by a continuous (liquid) model; see, e.g., [8].Such approximations are also useful in analyzing social phenomena. For example, in analyzing how epidemics spread, ...

Conservative Potentials for a Lattice-Mapped, Coarse-Grain Scheme with Fuzzy Switching Functions

“…The evolution equation of the CG mass elements is thus problematic because of the discrete nature of the Heaviside function at the subcell boundary. Using a fuzzy switching function, that is, continuously switching a particle’s membership in a given lattice subcell, can turn the discrete variables into continuous variables …”

“…Using a fuzzy switching function, that is, continuously switching a particle's membership in a given lattice subcell, can turn the discrete variables into continuous variables. 23 There is a long history of studying the use of a fuzzy switching function. Zadeh 24 and Klaua 25 independently introduced fuzzy set theory where an element can partially belong to multiple sets.…”