some of the rules for binary math and boolean logic, are similar to knitting

A couple of thoughts from the dim and distant past when I was doing my degree. Margaret Boden (who has written several books about Artificial Intelligence) was one of my lecturers and is also into knitting. She was keen to draw an analogy between computer programs and knitting patterns; I believe I've heard others adopt the analogy (including yourself of course, Helen ). However Boden is also keen to emphasise that following a pattern, however complex, doesn't denote intelligence. This is quite an important distinction in AI/Philosophy.

( of course there are many good reasons why we would prefer hand-made to mass-produced clothes!)

As to how well boolean logic applies to life, well, Douglas Hofstadter's (sp?) book Godel, Escher Bach comes out with the nice suggestion that there are actually 3 answers to any question:
Yes, No or Mu
Mu unasks the question, a bit like the "answers" that Zen masters once provided to their students' misguided questions.