Computation and the Periodic Table

By now there is an extensive network of interlocking analogies between physics, topology, logic and computer science, which can be seen most easily by comparing the roles that symmetric monoidal closed categories play in each subject. However, symmetric monoidal categories are just the n = 1, k = 3 entry of a hypothesized “periodic table” of k-tuply monoidal n-categories. This raises the question of how these analogies extend. We present some thoughts on this question, focusing on how monoidal closed 2-categories might let us understand the lambda calculus more deeply.

Link to the talk

via The n-Category Café

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An interesting related Ltu

An interesting, related Ltu discussion. I especially like the slides "Category Theory for Beginners" for showing how various categories, "semantics" are related.