Mathematics is so rigid, isn't it? 1+1 will always equal 2, whether you're in America, China, or on Mars. Martian math: same as earthly math.

But what if it wasn't? What if 1+1 was sometimes 2, but sometimes 3? What if it was sometimes 2.5, or 2.9999, or 2.?

Well, that makes no sense! What kind of fuzzy math is that?!

Exactly. That's fuzzy math. Pioneered by Lotfi Zadeh in the 1960s, it is based on the concept of fuzzy, or uncertain sets. Basically, the value of a function is not 0 or 1, but an uncertain number between 0 and 1. This is where it gets fuzzy.

Who was Zadeh? According to him, "an American, mathematically oriented, electrical engineer of Iranian descent, born in Russia." A couple of caveats here: Russia is really Baku, Azerbaijan, and he left off his Jewish heritage...

Talk about a fuzzy answer!