Re: The humility topos

[Michael Barr <barr@math.mcgill.ca>]

The older name for topology was "analysis situs", analysis of place.  Why 
that was changed is unknown to me, but the topo- root is just Greek for 
place and it would be a stretch to assume anything else without good 
evidence.

A French mathematician named, IIRC, Jean Pont wrote a book called, 
"L'Histoire de la topologie algébrique avant Poincaré" that traces 
topology, at least algebraic topologie to Euler's solution to the bridges 
of Königsberg problem.  I think V-F+E = 2 came next.

Michael

On Fri, 2 Jul 2010, Eduardo J. Dubuc wrote:

> Grothendieck introduced the term "topos" simply out of "topology" and 
> "topological space".
>
> we should wonder who and why introduced "topology" and "topological space".
>
> Dusko Pavlovic wrote:
>>  It might be fair to remember that "Topoi" is the title of 6th book or
>>  Aristotle's Organon. "On Categories" is the title of the 1st book of
>>  Organon.
>>  Both concepts were very actively used by scolastic philosophers. Maybe we
>>  are their heirs of some sort ;)
>>
>>  It would be interesting to know about the motivations of people who
>>  introduced these terms into mathematics. I think that MacLane said at  one
>>  point that there was a terminological link through Rudolf Carnap, thus
>>  through neokantians. The notion of categories plays a prominent role in
>>  Kant's first Critique. But it is even more interesting if the term topos
>>  was introduced with an intentional reference to *dialectics*, which is
>>  what that part of Organon is about.
>>
>>  -- dusko

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