From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Msuck: nntp://news.gmane.io/gmane.science.mathematics.categories/4586 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: "George Janelidze" Newsgroups: gmane.science.mathematics.categories Subject: Re: Bourbaki and Categories Date: Tue, 16 Sep 2008 02:03:12 +0200 Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: main.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain;charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Trace: ger.gmane.org 1241020042 13949 80.91.229.2 (29 Apr 2009 15:47:22 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@ger.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Wed, 29 Apr 2009 15:47:22 +0000 (UTC) To: Original-X-From: rrosebru@mta.ca Tue Sep 16 21:12:26 2008 -0300 Return-path: Envelope-to: categories-list@mta.ca Delivery-date: Tue, 16 Sep 2008 21:12:26 -0300 Original-Received: from Majordom by mailserv.mta.ca with local (Exim 4.61) (envelope-from ) id 1KfkYK-0003hh-P1 for categories-list@mta.ca; Tue, 16 Sep 2008 21:05:52 -0300 Original-Sender: cat-dist@mta.ca Precedence: bulk X-Keywords: X-UID: 56 Original-Lines: 32 Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.science.mathematics.categories:4586 Archived-At: Dear Andree, Could you please explain this better?: The only Bourbaki member I new personally was Sammy Eilenberg. As many of us, I knew him very well and I would say that he was more skeptical about the Bourbaki Tractate then one can conclude from Andre's message. Having in mind not just this but the content of Bourbaki's "Homological algebra" and what we see today from the followers of that Bourbaki group, I protest against Andre's "two options" and I insist that Bourbaki group simply did not see the importance of category theory (in spite of being brilliant mathematicians, as I said in my previous message). I hope Andre will forgive me and even agree with me. However, there were three great category-theorists in that group (plus there is this mysterious story about Chevalley's book of category theory lost in the train), and "did not see" cannot be said about them of course. On the other hand I have never heard of any joint work of Charles Ehresmann with any of the two others, Eilenberg and Grothendieck (and nothing jointly from them). I think apart from the time issues you describe, the relationship between Bourbaki Tractate and category theory should have been determined by their separate or joint influence and therefore also by their communication with each other (if any). Is this true, and could you please give details? Respectfully, and with best regards- George