From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Msuck: nntp://news.gmane.io/gmane.science.mathematics.categories/4569 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Colin McLarty Newsgroups: gmane.science.mathematics.categories Subject: Re: Bourbaki and Categories Date: Fri, 12 Sep 2008 14:46:11 -0400 Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: main.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Trace: ger.gmane.org 1241020033 13892 80.91.229.2 (29 Apr 2009 15:47:13 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@ger.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Wed, 29 Apr 2009 15:47:13 +0000 (UTC) To: categories@mta.ca Original-X-From: rrosebru@mta.ca Fri Sep 12 21:14:29 2008 -0300 Return-path: Envelope-to: categories-list@mta.ca Delivery-date: Fri, 12 Sep 2008 21:14:29 -0300 Original-Received: from Majordom by mailserv.mta.ca with local (Exim 4.61) (envelope-from ) id 1KeIhF-0000S6-60 for categories-list@mta.ca; Fri, 12 Sep 2008 21:09:05 -0300 Content-Disposition: inline Original-Sender: cat-dist@mta.ca Precedence: bulk X-Keywords: X-UID: 39 Original-Lines: 40 Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.science.mathematics.categories:4569 Archived-At: From=3A zoran skoda =3Czskoda=40gmail=2Ecom=3E Date=3A Friday=2C September 12=2C 2008 2=3A06 pm wrote=2C among other things =3E main points of departure=2E The remark that as a proponent of = =3E =22structures=22 Bourbaki =3E had to include categories is anyway a bit lacking an argument=2E = =3E First of all=2C because =3E of the size problems one can not take big categories on equal = =3E footing with=2C say groups=2C =3E and considering only small categories would be strange and lacking = =3E most interesting examples=2E The claim is not that Bourbaki should have studied categories as structures=2E It is that Bourbaki was doomed to fail in trying to use their structure theory=2E Leo Corry shows in his book =22Modern Algebra = and the Rise of Mathematical Structures=22 (Birkh=E4user 1996) that they did = fail=2E = And they should have seen this coming=2C because their theory had been = =22superseded by that of category and functor=2C which includes it under = a more general and convenient form=22 (Dieudonn=E9 =22The Work of Nicholas Bourbaki=22 1= 970)=2E best=2C Colin