4 ms·
This might be an unpopular opinion, but category theory isn't very useful at low levels of abstraction. It is an elegant mental framework/model that can be used
by alde 5y ago
This might be an unpopular opinion, but category theory isn't very useful at low levels of abstraction. It is an elegant mental framework/model that can be used to generalize many concepts, but in my experience such generalizations rarely give additional insights about the concept it is generalizing.
- Epa095 5y agoFreeman Dyson said: >Some mathematicians are birds, others are frogs. Birds fly high in the air and survey broad vistas of mathematics out to the far horizon. They delight in concepts that unify our thinking and bring together diverse problems from different parts of the landscape. Frogs live in the mud below and see only the flowers that grow nearby. They delight in the details of particular objects, and they solve problems one at a time. Mathematics needs both birds and frogs. Mathematics is rich and beautiful because birds give it broad visions and frogs give it intricate details. It is my impression that those loving category theory are predominantly birds. I am a frog, and never really got the love for category theory.
- Koshkin 5y agoThis may be true if you take one concept (category) in isolation. But the power of category theory is in revealing hidden analogies between different concepts. Which is why it is an important tool in the areas like algebraic topology.