Marco Elio Tabacchi

A fuzzy approach to the evaluation of image complexity

The inherently multidimensional problem of evaluating the complexity of an image is of a certain relevance in both computer science and cognitive psychology. Computer scientists usually analyze spatial dimensions in order to deal with automatic vision problems, such as feature extraction. Psychologists seem more interested in the temporal dimension of complexity, as a means to explore attentional models. Is it possible to define, by merging both approaches, a more general index of visual complexity? The aim of this paper is the definition of objective measures of image complexity that fits with the so named perceived time. Towards the end we have defined a fuzzy mathematical model of visual complexity, based on fuzzy measures of entropy; the results obtained by applying this model to a set of pictorial images present a strong correlation with the outcomes of an experiment with human subjects, based on variation of subjective temporal estimations associated with changes in visual attentional load, which is also described herein.

PERSONALITY VARIABLES AS PREDICTORS OF FACEBOOK USAGE

This study investigates the role of personality factors as predictors of Facebook usage. Data concerning Facebook usage and personality factors from 654 Facebook users were gathered using a web survey. Using path analysis, the results showed Openness was a predictor of Facebook early adoption, Conscientiousness with sparing use, Extraversion with long sessions and abundant friendships, and Neuroticism with high frequency of sessions. The possible role of Agreeableness in predicting low session frequency and friendships needs further validation.

Early usage of Pokmon Go and its personality correlates

Pokmon Go is a popular augmented reality mobile game. Players find imaginary creatures by wandering into the real world, which can then be collected and used in combat. In this paper an assessment of Pokmon Go early usage in the Italian community and of its correlates with the Big Five personality traits is given. The resulting profile of early PG player is one of a more Introverted, close person with high agreeability and conscientiousness. Extraversion and Stability are positively correlated with the collection part of the game, while Agreeableness is a negative predictor thereof. Openness is correlated to the level of proficiency. Display Omitted We assess Pokmon Go early usage and its correlates with the Big Five traits.Early PG player are more Introverted and Close, highly Agreeable and Conscientious.Extraversion and Stability are positively correlated with collection.Agreeableness is a negative predictor of collection.Openness is positively correlated to the level of proficiency reached in the game.

Facebook as a Small World: a topological hypothesis

Facebook is becoming a pervasive entity as its social, cultural and media ramifications grow deep and entrenched in our daily life. Its nature of a complex system of interactions, bearing a strong similarity to networks built through individual choices and systems shaped by evolutionary pressure, makes it an interesting target for research. Scale-free Small World networks, recently popularized by Barabasi, are a topological class pertaining to both these domains, whose members have resilience to disruption and short intermediate connections between nodes. In this paper we show that the topological structure of a specific subset of Facebook, gathered using data from a self-report online questionnaire on its usage, is similar but measurably different from a scale-free Small World network. We conjecture that the reason for this counterintuitive result lies in the dynamics behind friendship requests. This concept may be extendable to the whole network and to other social networks, and is useful to understand Facebook strengths and weaknesses, and to forecast its evolution.

Fuzziness and Medicine: Philosophical Reflections and Application Systems in Health Care

This book is a collection of contributions written by philosophers and scientists active in different fields, such as mathematics, logics, social sciences, computer sciences and linguistics. They comment on and discuss various parts of and subjects and propositions introduced in the Handbook of Analytical Philosophy of Medicine from Kadem Sadegh-Zadeh, published by Springer in 2012. This volume reports on the fruitful exchange and debate that arose in the fuzzy community upon the publication of the Handbook. This was not only very much appreciated by the community but also seen as a critical starting point for beginning a new discussion. The results of this discussion, which involved many different perspectives from science and the humanities and was warmly encouraged by Kadem Sadegh-Zadeh himself, are accurately reported in this volume, which is intended to be a critical companion to Kadem Sadegh-Zadehs handbook.Rudolf Seising is currently an adjunct researcher at the European Centre for Soft Computing in Mieres, Asturias (Spain) and a college lecturer at the Faculty of History and Arts, at the Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich (Germany).Marco Elio Tabacchi is currently the Scientific Director of the Italian National Research & Survey Organization Demopolis, and a research assistant in the Soft Computing Group at University of Palermo (Italy).

On the evaluation of images complexity: a fuzzy approach

The inherently multidimensional problem of evaluating the complexity of an image is of a certain relevance in both computer science and cognitive psychology. Computer scientists usually analyze spatial dimensions, to deal with automatic vision problems, such as feature-extraction. Psychologists seem more interested in the temporal dimension of complexity, to explore attentional models. Is it possible, by merging both approaches, to define an more general index of visual complexity? We have defined a fuzzy mathematical model of visual complexity, using a specific entropy function; results obtained by applying this model to pictorial images have a strong correlation with ones from an experiment with human subjects based on variation of subjective temporal estimations associated with changes in visual attentional load, which is also described herein.

Fuzzy Set Theory as a Methodological Bridge between Hard Sciences and Humanities

In this paper, we will investigate the possible role of fuzzy set theory (FST), and more generally the ensemble of technologies and theoretical approaches known as soft computing, as a methodological bridge between hard sciences and humanities. We will try, building on previous works, to investigate the “family links” between these disciplines and show how FST may be of help in promoting a connection between the “two cultures”. We will discuss Carnap and his paradox of explication, the dilemma between imagination and rigor according to Bateson, the problem of interdisciplinarity, and the consequences of precision and exactness.

Some Reflections on Fuzzy Set Theory as an Experimental Science

The aim of this paper is to open a critical discussion on the claim, recently presented in the community and especially heralded by Enric Trillas, that fuzzy logic should be seen as an “experimental science”. The first interesting aspect of such remark is whether and in which way such position has consequences on the real development of the research, or if it is simply a (different) way of looking at the same phenomenon. As a consequence, we investigate the possible connection to Zadeh’s distiction between Fuzzy logic in a restricted sense and in a general sense. We shall argue that Trillas’s claim not only strongly supports the necessity for such a distinction, but provides a path of investigation which can preserve the conceptual innovativeness of the notion of fuzziness.

Varieties of Vagueness, Fuzziness and a few foundational (and ontological) questions

In this paper we discuss the multifaceted nature of vagueness, the limits of (standard) set theory in dealing with the foundational aspects that a really innovating theory of vagueness should manifest, and the difficulties in outlining the possible features that such a type of new formalism should exhibit in order to be able to deal with such innovative aspects. We shall highlight some aspects of the role that Fuzzy Set Theory (FST) can play in this process.

A Few Remarks on the Roots of Fuzziness Measures

In the forty years from the introduction of Fuzzy Entropy, fuzziness measures has been employed in many different fields pertaining both hard and soft sciences, from medicine to art, from engineering to linguistics. If we look back at the road traveled, we can safely state that on of the main reasons for this enduring presence, and maybe the most underrated, is the truly uniqueness of the concept of fuzziness. Far from a reminiscence, this consideration is more of a projection on the future of fuzziness: we strongly believe that the innovation implicit in the concept, while having sometime hindered in the past its perception as a powerful paradigm and tool for the hard science community, will maintain fuzziness measures topical and relevant. New developments of Fuzzy Sets Theory such as Computing with Words, will need new ways of measuring, and new fuzzy measures.