From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Msuck: nntp://news.gmane.io/gmane.science.mathematics.categories/5370 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: John Baez Newsgroups: gmane.science.mathematics.categories Subject: Re: A well kept secret? Date: Mon, 14 Dec 2009 21:12:53 -0800 Message-ID: References: Reply-To: John Baez NNTP-Posting-Host: lo.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 X-Trace: ger.gmane.org 1260921643 30432 80.91.229.12 (16 Dec 2009 00:00:43 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@ger.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:00:43 +0000 (UTC) To: "categories@mta.ca" Original-X-From: categories@mta.ca Wed Dec 16 01:00:36 2009 Return-path: Envelope-to: gsmc-categories@m.gmane.org Original-Received: from mailserv.mta.ca ([138.73.1.1]) by lo.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.50) id 1NKhJW-0005Gp-PE for gsmc-categories@m.gmane.org; Wed, 16 Dec 2009 01:00:22 +0100 Original-Received: from Majordom by mailserv.mta.ca with local (Exim 4.61) (envelope-from ) id 1NKgtk-0004qj-QX for categories-list@mta.ca; Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:33:44 -0400 In-Reply-To: Original-Sender: categories@mta.ca Precedence: bulk Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.science.mathematics.categories:5370 Archived-At: Andrew Stacey wrote: > All this discussion about a "well kept secret" has gone > a bit over my head. I'm not sure what the secret is! We could tell you... ... but then it wouldn't be a secret, now, would it? Seriously, I think the so-called "secret" is the power and glory of category theory. And I think some of the older category theorists on this mailing list have a different attitude than youngsters like you and me. They fought to convince the world that category theory was worthwhile. Some feel they lost that fight. We came along later and are a bit puzzled by that attitude: if you look around at the landscape of mathematics today, categories are everywhere! From Grothendieck to Voevodsky to Lurie, etc., much of the most exciting mathematics of our era would be inconceivable without categories. I don't think I'll try to tell you the old war stories: others are better qualified. But I hope the veterans of those wars take heed of your comments and realize many young mathematicians naturally find categories interesting, exciting, and/or useful. Certainly there is much about categories that these youngsters don't understand. But they can learn it if you explain it.` Best, jb [For admin and other information see: http://www.mta.ca/~cat-dist/ ]