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From: saswss@hotellng.unx.sas.com (Warren Sarle)
Subject: Re: Books for Beginners
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Date: Tue, 13 Sep 1994 20:12:37 GMT
References: <34agvk$4pt@nnrp.ucs.ubc.ca> <34fccg$7ff@fbi-news.informatik.uni-dortmund.de> <170308586S86.RVANRAAM@bcsc02.gov.bc.ca>
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In article <170308586S86.RVANRAAM@bcsc02.gov.bc.ca>, RVANRAAM@bcsc02.gov.bc.ca writes:
|> ...
|> >> > Check out /Fuzzy Thinking/ by Bart Kosko!
|> >> ...
|> I like the book too but my complaint was that it was difficult to
|> track down any references for doing the math that goes with
|> fuzzy cognitive MAPS.  Now I am hearing that the FCM's are
|> simplistic unrealistic models that don't produce anything usefull.

I said something along those lines, but I meant that FCMs are
simplistic for _some_ applications where serious structural equation
or econometric models would be more appropriate. FCMs are undoubtedly
useful for _something_, although I couldn't say what right off.

Kosko has good ideas, but he tends to inflate them into grandiose
schemes for explaining the universe.

I thought _Fuzzy Thinking_ was very entertaining, but it's a
popularized, nontechnical work. If you want technical details, look
at the bibliography: Kosko, B. (1986) "Fuzzy cognitive maps",
International J of Man-Machine Studies, 24, 65-75.


-- 

Warren S. Sarle       SAS Institute Inc.   The opinions expressed here
saswss@unx.sas.com    SAS Campus Drive     are mine and not necessarily
(919) 677-8000        Cary, NC 27513, USA  those of SAS Institute.
