Alladi Ramakrishnan Hall

Why should I care about Category Theory?

Emilio Faro

Universidad de Vigo, Spain

Every student of mathematics is aware of the beneficial clarification brought about in Mathematics by the advent of Set Theory (even if used only in its "naïve" form). A further, deeper, and larger clarification of Mathematics and of the Exact Sciences in general, awaits those that decide to "take a dip" into Category Theory. From the Foundations of Logic and Mathematics to Physics and Computer Science, Category Theory offers a clarifying perspective with its insistence in "turning things upside down" and going back to the essence of things.

In this introductory talk, I will justify and explain the above statements, illustrating them with many simple examples.