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Computing with Words in Information/Intelligent Systems 1 pp 119–135Cite as

Words about Uncertainty: Analogies and Contexts

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Part of the book series: Studies in Fuzziness and Soft Computing ((STUDFUZZ,volume 33))

Abstract

The study of uncertainty in many fields has been beset by debate and even confusion over the meaning(s) of uncertainty and the words that are used to describe it. Normative debates address questions such as whether there is more than one kind of uncertainty and how verbal descriptions of uncertainty ought to be used. Descriptive research, which we shall deal with in this paper, concerns how people actually use words to describe uncertainty and the distinct meanings they apply to those words. The main reason for what might seem an obvious statement is to clarify the somewhat odd context in which most studies of decision making take place.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Psychology, Australian National University, Canberra, A.C.T., 0200, Australia

    Michael J. Smithson

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  1. Michael J. Smithson
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Berkeley Initiative in Soft Computing (BISC) Computer Science Division and Electronics Research Laboratory Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering and Computer Science, University of California, 94720-1776, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Lotfi A. Zadeh

  2. Systems Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Newelska 6, 01-447, Warsaw, Poland

    Janusz Kacprzyk

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Smithson, M.J. (1999). Words about Uncertainty: Analogies and Contexts. In: Zadeh, L.A., Kacprzyk, J. (eds) Computing with Words in Information/Intelligent Systems 1. Studies in Fuzziness and Soft Computing, vol 33. Physica, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7908-1873-4_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7908-1873-4_6

  • Publisher Name: Physica, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-662-11362-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-7908-1873-4

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