Dear John, et al, If this seems overly optimistic, it's worth thinking about calculus, which
in Newton's day was regarded as comprehensible only by a few experts.
i totally agree! Back when i was pushing the process algebras into the corporate software sector i would regularly "shame" exec/engineers who claimed the formalism too complex by demonstrating that i could teach the π-calculus to 13 year-old's and they could use it, fruitfully. There are branches of mathematics that really require steady application to a steep learning curve for an extended period of time, but there are many -- computation and category theory being among them -- where there is a core that really is accessible to anyone with a certain penchant for abstraction. Engaged and engaging teachers and practitioners are a key ingredient -- without which many go hungry at the table of mathematics. Best wishes, --greg On Sat, Dec 19, 2009 at 2:16 PM, John Baez <john.c.baez@gmail.com> wrote:
Dear categorists -
At 11:09 PM 12/17/2009, John Baez wrote:
I think it's premature to introduce category theory in the undergrad curriculum.
On Fri, Dec 18, 2009 at 2:25 PM, Ellis D. Cooper <xtalv1@netropolis.net
wrote:
I think there are enough very interesting simple examples of categories that the language and diagrams could be introduced to high school students.
I agree! Just to be clear: by "premature" I wasn't trying to say that undergraduates or even high school students are too young to learn and profit from category theory. I meant that there aren't enough high school teachers who understand category theory well enough to teach it - except for isolated experiments here and there.
Math trickles down. Right now we need more category theory taught at the graduate level, so someday enough professors will understand it well enough to teach it at the undergrad level, so that eventually enough high school teachers will know enough to teach it at the high school level.
If this seems overly optimistic, it's worth thinking about calculus, which in Newton's day was regarded as comprehensible only by a few experts.
Best, jb
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