Soft Computing: Fuzzy Logic, Neural Networks, and Genetic Algorithms

Abstract

Soft computing is a relatively new field within computer science. It is a conglomeration of fuzzy logic, neural networks, and probabilistic reasoning. Probabilistic reasoning is further divided into belief networks, genetic algorithms, and chaos theory. What all of these subfields share is an adherence to nonexact computation. Up until now, we have been using formal Boolean logic, which says that something is either true or false, yes or no, black or white. There are no shades of gray with this type of logic.