Are you Fuzzy?

Can you imagine a three sided die instead of a six sided? Think about that...
Meanwhile, we - human beings - often like to divide the world in opposites. Things seem to be either true or untrue.


Examples:

• Friend or Foe?
• Black or White?
• Number or Word?
• Head or Tail?

But most of the times our world can't be split up like that.


Coins: Heads or Tails
Even an action like throwing a coin with two possible outcomes, Head or Tail, reaches its limits when you realize that there's - no matter how small it is - a change that the coin might land on its edge.
So we can view at things by



Thinking on the edge

Now we may realize that there three outcomes in tossing a coin:

Heads, Tails & Undecided


In mathematics this creates a new world of Logic, where the outcome of a logical process no longer consists of two possibilities, but three:
- Head => 1 = True
- Tail => 0 = Untrue
- Edge => 1/2 = Undecided


This idea introduces us in a special part of the mathematical world of symbolic logic called:
Three-valued-logic


This three valued logic has other truth tables than the traditional two valued system.





In The Netherlands we've got the words "God be with us" on the edge of our Euro-coins.
What makes three valued logic interesting is that there can be no 'true' or 'untrue', no 'head' or 'tails' of a coin unless it has a certain 'thickness'.
It's just like in our lives, by God we're able to distinguish between good and bad. He makes us think, he's so to say 'our edge'.





Dices
As the thickness of our coin increases, the probability of landing on its edge increases also and the coin looks more like a die.
If you still have doubts about wetter we are making sense here instead of theoretical nonsense, keep reading.
Its perhaps easy to design dices that consist of 4,6,8,12, 20 or even 30 sides.
They are called


Polyhedral Dice



But lets stretch the limits now....
Can you design a three sided die?
Well here it is:



So it turns out that a three sided die is a cylinder, in fact a 'thick coin' you could say.


The question on how to design a three-sided fair die or coin is a complicated mathematical matter, that basic comes down to the fact that the 'diameter' should be equal tot the 'thickness' of the coin.


A three-sided fair coin is defined to be a cylinder which, when flipped like a coin, has an equal probability of landing on heads, tails or the edge


Now let's take it one step further.


Sometimes things are not absolutely true, but more relatively. Fore example, when you ask wetter something is heavy or light or when something is hot or cold.
Here is where


Fuzzy Logic
comes in.


There's nothing really fuzzy about Fuzzy Logic, it's a more sophisticated way of valuing 'how much' something is true.
Fuzzy Logic is for example used in a


Fuzzy thermostat.






The conventional thermostat works with an on-off switch, the fuzzy thermostat in- or decreases the speed of the fan bit by bit and uses feedback.


But what are you? Is everything true or untrue in your life and do you respond therefore in a two- or maybe "three valued way" (including undecided) to your friends?


Or are you 'fuzzy enough' to try things gradually in your life and do you learn from feedback?

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Trust or distrust?

Without trust you can't live.


Trust is THE basic element in business, management, friendship, love and life.





Now 'Trust' is not an easy subject. For example: Research showed that women and men both lie about three times every 15 minutes in a simple conversation. So you could ask yourself,


What is Trust?


There can be no trust unless you give it first.
And even with someone you fully trust, you'll have to cope with distrust.
If you think you won't.. Just the fact you 'thought about it' or red this line proves you'll have to deal with distrust.


Let's look at some properties of these trust relationships:


Trust relationships:

• are bipolar
  Trust and Distrust



• include ambivalence
  Degrees of [dis]trust
  Simultaneous trust and distrust



• are multifaceted
  We can both trust and distrust the same person in different contexts

Trust relationships are also two dimensional:





Let's look at how you can manage trust and distrust in the same relationship.





From this matrix we may conclude the next rules of thumb:

• 'Just' managing distrust, won't bring more trust.



• If there is not enough trust, trying to manage distrust will escalate and lead to apathy and frustration. Once you're in this position, your relationship gets 'locked' and the both of you won't be able to manage your trust anymore.
• Always start managing trust first.
  In a situation with "low distrust" by giving 'more freedom', 'stimulating each other' and 'creating happy moments'.
  In a situation with "high distrust" first by 'creating rules' and 'agreements' and (re)gain confidence in each other.

That's not all folks! It's just the start. Trust me.

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A little stress helps!

There's an old Dutch saying that states


Too forbids


It's just like with stress.





We all need a little stress to achieve a good performance. Nothing is wrong with that.
When there's no stress at all, we get bored an it gets difficult to motivate yourself.
So:
Too little stress can be stressful too


But on raising the level of stress we'll soon reach our maximal performance: We feel great.
After that, more stress will not increase our performance level anymore.


When you raise your expectations and you feel that your performance is not increasing anymore, try to stabilize.


These excessive levels of stress occur in the following circumstances:

• When you think that what is being asked of you is beyond your perceived abilities
• When too much is asked of you in too short a space of time
• When unnecessary obstacles are put in the way of achieving goals

Get stressed, but too forbids ........

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