One wonders what an 18th C analyst would make of a late 20th C calculus text. Integers and rationals as equinumerous sets? The continuum as a set? Functions as sets of pairs? My god, is everything a set? Sounds like some sort of grand unified theory of mathematics. Newton's laws of motion constituted a Grand Unified Theory of cosmology in their day, and are still good enough for rocket science if not for Geiger counters and linear accelerators. Resolution was a Theory Of Everything for automated theorem proving for a few years. Every body of science has its GUTs and TOEs. They don't last forever but enjoy their fifteen years or fifteen decades of fame before the new improved GUT or TOE comes along. I wouldn't feel at all bad if some niche of mathematics or CS adopted Chu spaces as its TOE, even if just for a little while. Naturally I'd be delighted if chupology turned out to have legs. Vaughan Pratt On every plane The human brain Has GUTs and TOEs As all it knows From: Derek Ross <math@antiquark.com>
The impression I got from reading about categories (on the internet of course) is that category theory is a sort of grand unified theory of mathematics. ... I no longer think that's what category theory is about, but you might be interested in the first impressions of a layman.