Fuzzy-set calibration makes the steepness of the middle zone a choice, not a fact

Evidence

The default fuzzy-logic transformation has a middle—typically gray—zone where small changes in X have large changes in semantic meaning. A key design decision is how flat or steep the slope should be in this region. Starting from a steep slope, as one flattens the slope the transformation becomes closer to the linear one. The other extreme is dichotomization, where the semantics change with a huge jump at one point. — Gary Goertz, Social Science Concepts and Measurement, 665

Categorization

• DEFINE: Explains the ‘zone of ambiguity’ / gray zone in fuzzy-set calibration—the region where belonging is genuinely contestable.
• SEED: Angle: ‘Who decides when someone counts as poor?’—the politics buried inside seemingly technical calibration choices.