From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Msuck: nntp://news.gmane.io/gmane.science.mathematics.categories/2068 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Peter Freyd Newsgroups: gmane.science.mathematics.categories Subject: Two categories or 2-categories? Date: Wed, 26 Dec 2001 09:06:43 -0500 (EST) Message-ID: <200112261406.fBQE6hH19209@saul.cis.upenn.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: main.gmane.org X-Trace: ger.gmane.org 1241018381 2287 80.91.229.2 (29 Apr 2009 15:19:41 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@ger.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Wed, 29 Apr 2009 15:19:41 +0000 (UTC) To: categories@mta.ca Original-X-From: rrosebru@mta.ca Sat Dec 29 20:19:24 2001 -0400 Return-path: Envelope-to: categories-list@mta.ca Delivery-date: Sat, 29 Dec 2001 20:19:24 -0400 Original-Received: from Majordom by mailserv.mta.ca with local (Exim 3.33 #2) id 16KTal-0002ex-00 for categories-list@mta.ca; Sat, 29 Dec 2001 20:12:43 -0400 Original-Sender: cat-dist@mta.ca Precedence: bulk X-Keywords: X-UID: 45 Original-Lines: 17 Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.science.mathematics.categories:2068 Archived-At: In the film "A Beautiful Mind," the first indication that John Nash is regaining his abilities is a conversation with a student ("Galois extensions are really the same as covering spaces!" exclaims Toby, the student). The scene ends with Nash and the student bent over some papers and -- as I heard it -- the student says: "Functor...Two...Categories" (The film's not bad but its relation to Nash's life is tangential. If I had not absorbed a hint from a review, I think I might have stomped out in the middle because of the ridiculous portrayal of what mathematicians do. It turns out that the filmmakers are playing a game -- very effective with most of the audience -- in sliding between perceptions: ours and Nash's.)