HN user
I gave them access to my bank via coinbase. If I change my bank password would they lose access to my account? If not, what do I need to do to make Plaid lose my banking access?
is the thing that bothers you that there's formal mathematics
No. I like formal mathematics.
The audience of this book includes “motivated high school student who hasn’t seen calculus yet“.
IMO the book fails here. The average high schooler won’t understand this book on their own. This book is excellent if you already have an understanding of abstract algebra or higher level mathematics though, which is why I said it’s probably one of the best introduction to Category theory text out there. The topics covered in this book are great. This is a really outstanding book.
The audience for this book is quite diverse: anyone who finds the above description intriguing. This could include a motivated high school student who hasn’t seen calculus yet but has loved reading a weird book on mathematical logic they found at the library. Or a machine-learning researcher who wants to understand what vector spaces, design theory, and dynamical systems could possibly have in common. Or a pure mathematician who wants to imagine what sorts of applications their work might have. Or a recently-retired programmer who’s always had an eerie feeling that category theory is what they’ve been looking for to tie it all together, but who’s found the usual books on the subject impenetrable.
Gives the idea this text should be accessible to those that haven’t seen calculus yet, presumably that would also mean those that haven’t had abstract algebra either. But in reality this book is more advanced than what the average retired programmer or average high schooler could understand on their own. It’s better suited for those that already are familiar with more advanced mathematics. I am not knocking the book. As mentioned, it is probably one of the best introductory books on Category theory currently out there.
This is probably one of the best introduction to category theory text out there now, but it isn’t exactly as friendly to the non-mathematicians as advertised. The book assumes a level of mathematical sophistication beyond what most non-math majors know and ramps up fast. The average programmer would probably get lost pretty quickly with this book.