4 ms·

OK, I understand this meaning of "algebra" now. I've done some basic self-study of group theory, and of rings, but never really got to an algebra, which I see c

• klodolph 7y ago
  > I'm still not totally sure I understand what universal algebra studies now. Is it something akin to category theory? Sort of, in the sense that it’s more general. You might study category theory, prove some theorems, and then apply those theorems to a specific category, like Grp (which is the category of groups). In category theory, you will prove the theory using “objects” and “morphisms” which are called “groups” and “homomorphisms” inside Grp. The same thing applies to universal algebra. You might prove some theorem in universal algebra, about algebraic structures in general, and then apply that proof to some specific algebraic structure, like algebras or groups. (And from a practical perspective… you might actually write the proof for a specific object first, and then e.g. generalize your group theory proof into a universal algebra proof.)