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Not Exactly
In Praise of Vagueness
Introduction to Vagueness
Not everything is black and white. Our daily lives are full of vagueness or fuzziness. Language is the most obvious example - for instance, when we describe someone as tall, it is as though there is a particular height beyond which a person can be considered tall. Likewise the terms blond or overweight in common usage. We often think in discontinuous categories when we are considering something continuous.
Overview of Van Deemter's Approach
In this book, van Deemter cuts across various disciplines in considering the nature and importance of vagueness. He looks at the principles of measurement, and how we choose categories; the vagueness lurking behind what seems at first sight crisp concepts such as that of the biological species; uncertainties in grammar and the impact of vagueness on the programmes of Chomsky and Montague; vagueness and mathematical logic; computers, vague descriptions, and Natural Language Generation in AI (anew class of programs will allow computers to handle descriptions such as the man in the yellow shirt).
Significance of Vagueness
Van Deemter shows why vagueness is in various circumstances both unavoidable and useful, and how we are increasingly able to handle fuzziness in mathematical logic and computer science.
