Severe Strict Monoidal Category Naivete

["Ellis D. Cooper" <xtalv1@netropolis.net>]

Hi David,

At 11:50 PM 12/3/2010, you wrote:
>to push the chemical reaction analogy further, tensoring with an
>identity morphism 1_Y is like having a chemical present that doesn't
>take part in the reaction: it's there are the beginning and end, but
>doesn't change. But you can't take it away (and no, it's not like a
>catalyst, in that your original arrow f was there to begin with).

I agree completely. All I am saying is that since there is no effect
on the reaction by the presence of a neutral chemical, it might just
as well not be mentioned. Perhaps what I am getting at is a quotient
category in which X@Y->Z@Y is identified with X->Z in this specific
situation. I do believe this is how chemists think of their
applications of Hess' Law, which is what my inquiry is really all about.

Ellis



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