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# Introduction: Norman Israel

edited April 2018 in Chat

Hi, I'm Norman. I'm a Physics lecturer with interests in gravitational physics (classical and quantum), topological insulators, etc. Have always been interested in category theory after seeing it in TQFT, so I'm excited to learn it. Read a few things by you (John Baez) that had gotten me interested in the subject of category theory and its applications to physics. Could hardly understand it though, so here I am.

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edited April 2018

Hello, Norman! We'll mainly be talking about applications of category theory to subjects much humbler than quantum gravity, topological insulators or TQFT. So far I've been talking about people measuring the temperature in their room, or detectives trying to solve cases on islands with people who are secretly related, or amateur wine-tasters learning to distinguish between reds and whites. But the point is that category theory brings new mental tools that apply to almost anything. And this is precisely why it's so hard to understand before one puts some time into it: it's a different way of thinking.

Where do you teach?

Comment Source:Hello, Norman! We'll mainly be talking about applications of category theory to subjects much humbler than quantum gravity, topological insulators or TQFT. So far I've been talking about people measuring the temperature in their room, or detectives trying to solve cases on islands with people who are secretly related, or amateur wine-tasters learning to distinguish between reds and whites. But the point is that category theory brings new mental tools that apply to almost anything. And this is precisely why it's so hard to understand before one puts some time into it: it's a different way of thinking. Where do you teach?
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I figured it would be much humbler, better to start there. I can make the connections later on my own once I get the nuts and bolts. It's a subject exciting in its own right.

I teach at the University of Technology, Jamaica.

Comment Source:I figured it would be much humbler, better to start there. I can make the connections later on my own once I get the nuts and bolts. It's a subject exciting in its own right. I teach at the University of Technology, Jamaica.