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If you want to learn category theory in a way that is more orthodox, a lot of people recommend Tom Leinster’s Basic Category Theory, which is free[1]. I’m goin
by seanhunter 6mo ago
If you want to learn category theory in a way that is more orthodox, a lot of people recommend Tom Leinster’s Basic Category Theory, which is free[1]. I’m going to be working through it soon, but the bit I’ve skimmed through looks really good if more “mathsy” than things like TFA. It also does a better job (imo) of justifying the existence of category theory as a field of study.
[1] https://arxiv.org/pdf/1612.09375 https://arxiv.org/pdf/1612.09375
- gobdovan 6mo agoDisclaimer for the book, and for category theory in general: most books are optimized for people who already master mathematics at an undergraduate level. If you're not familiar with algebraic structures, linear algebra, or topology, be prepared to learn them along the way from different resources. Category theory is also not that impressive unless you already understand some of the semantics it is trying to unify. In this regards, the book itself presents, for example, the initial property as trivial at first hand, unless you notice that it does not simply hold for arbitrary structures.
- senderista 6mo ago_Conceptual Mathematics_ is basically category theory for high school students. https://www.amazon.com/Conceptual-Mathematics-First-Introduction-Categories/dp/052171916X https://www.amazon.com/Conceptual-Mathematics-First-Introduc...
- seanhunter 6mo agoThat looks fantastic actually. Thanks very much for the recommendation.