Category Theory
Zulip Server
Archive

You're reading the public-facing archive of the Category Theory Zulip server.
To join the server you need an invite. Anybody can get an invite by contacting Matteo Capucci at name dot surname at gmail dot com.
For all things related to this archive refer to the same person.


Stream: practice: communication

Topic: translating Li Wenwei's Algebra


view this post on Zulip Hypatia du Bois-Marie (Jan 14 2024 at 19:05):

Todd Trimble said:

Occasionally Mac Lane would publish treatments of things often covered in undergraduate curricula, like Hamiltonian mechanics. But yeah, this is what I understand you meant, two or three comments back.

I want to write textbooks as well lol (for example starting by a translation project of Li Wenwei's Algebra book (it's under CC license so anybody can just start working on it))

view this post on Zulip Hypatia du Bois-Marie (Jan 14 2024 at 19:29):

@Todd Trimble let me ask you a question: see below (click to expand), I translated the ToC of the first volume of that book. do you feel this would be a project with good influence?

Translated Table of Content of the First Volume of Li Wenwei's Book Algebra (from Chinese)

view this post on Zulip Hypatia du Bois-Marie (Jan 14 2024 at 19:31):

we should probably move this discussion to somewhere else

view this post on Zulip Todd Trimble (Jan 14 2024 at 21:37):

It's very hard for me to tell (i.e., I might not be the best person to ask). I mean, it's all good stuff, but it's quite an eclectic collection of topics, a kind of series of tastings of this and that, of things which I guess the author finds appealing -- as opposed to a tight, coherent narrative with a central point of view which is [blank]. But most of the topics on display are individually interesting to me.

view this post on Zulip Hypatia du Bois-Marie (Jan 14 2024 at 23:35):

Todd Trimble said:

It's very hard for me to tell (i.e., I might not be the best person to ask). I mean, it's all good stuff, but it's quite an eclectic collection of topics, a kind of series of tastings of this and that, of things which I guess the author finds appealing -- as opposed to a tight, coherent narrative with a central point of view which is [blank]. But most of the topics on display are individually interesting to me.

I actually feel the opposite: Li will actually use the category theory perspective in all of the rest chapters, also mentioning foundational issues along the way. I can summarize a short section to you if you want (or if you read some chinese or use google translate, https://www.wwli.asia/downloads/books/Al-jabr-1.pdf). I'm primarily asking since you seem to be the people who knows how european/american higher education works (which i kinda find unsatisfactory and... for a lack of better word, unexciting, and thus my will and motivations to changes

on the other hand, let's move this discussion to a different stream not under the topic Taylor Swift (lol

(wait I don't think I have permission to move messages...

view this post on Zulip Todd Trimble (Jan 15 2024 at 00:15):

I don't know that I have permission either, and anyway I don't know how to do such things. (Maybe I could look it up, but I'm lazy.)

view this post on Zulip Todd Trimble (Jan 15 2024 at 00:16):

Of course there was no way for me to tell, just from staring at a table of contents, that Li will use the category theory perspective throughout. That's good of course. I'd want to do the same if I were writing a similar book. Use category-theoretic ideas (at a simple level) unapologetically, when they afford a certain elegance of exposition (kind of an ideal for the way I have enjoyed writing nLab articles on more or less "elementary" graduate-level topics). I think it's really, really underappreciated how much mileage you can get from universal methods.

view this post on Zulip Todd Trimble (Jan 15 2024 at 00:16):

So now from what you say, the book sounds like a good idea.

view this post on Zulip Todd Trimble (Jan 15 2024 at 00:16):

I neither read Chinese, nor do I consider myself even remotely an expert on higher education in America, much less anywhere else in the world (like Europe).

view this post on Zulip Hypatia du Bois-Marie (Jan 15 2024 at 00:22):

Todd Trimble said:

I don't know that I have permission either, and anyway I don't know how to do such things. (Maybe I could look it up, but I'm lazy.)

well let's wait for mods coming to this thread to move us i guess... (made this message bold...

view this post on Zulip Notification Bot (Jan 15 2024 at 06:56):

10 messages were moved here from #meta: off-topic > Taylor Swift by Matteo Capucci (he/him).

view this post on Zulip Matteo Capucci (he/him) (Jan 15 2024 at 06:56):

There you go!

view this post on Zulip John Baez (Jan 15 2024 at 16:44):

Only moderators have the ability to move discussions.

view this post on Zulip Hypatia du Bois-Marie (Jan 15 2024 at 17:17):

Todd Trimble said:

So now from what you say, the book sounds like a good idea.

There's a second volume in drafting. I translated the ToC for you (you will see Li is extremely ambitious):

Translated ToC of the Draft of Second Volume of Li Wenwei's Algebra (from Chinese)

view this post on Zulip Hypatia du Bois-Marie (Jan 15 2024 at 17:19):

John Baez said:

Only moderators have the ability to move discussions.

I wonder if there's a possibility for a mechanism by which all users involved in the discussion can have a unanimous vote for a move (proposed by a user, carried out by a bot, etc.)... let me read about zulip's api...

view this post on Zulip Morgan Rogers (he/him) (Jan 15 2024 at 21:44):

:man_shrugging: the mods are pretty active, but midnight to 2am CET might be a blind spot. Just discuss away and let us handle it!

view this post on Zulip John Baez (Jan 16 2024 at 21:29):

Hypatia du Bois-Marie said:

I wonder if there's a possibility for a mechanism by which all users involved in the discussion can have a unanimous vote for a move (proposed by a user, carried out by a bot, etc.)... let me read about zulip's api...

That sounds complicated. I think it's enough for someone to ask the moderator to move the discussion, and for anyone who objects to object, and then for the moderator to decide.

view this post on Zulip John Baez (Jan 16 2024 at 21:30):

You see, in all my time here I've never seen a serious argument about whether a discussion should be moved, so "voting" seems too complicated.

view this post on Zulip Xuanrui Qi (Jan 17 2024 at 07:54):

Hey! Nice work. Li's Algebra is one of the best algebra textbooks I know, especially from a categorical/structural perspective. I'm a native Chinese speaker, so you're welcome to ask me in case of ambiguities.

view this post on Zulip Xuanrui Qi (Jan 17 2024 at 07:54):

Your TOC translation looks good. Just a note, I'd translate "一瞥" as "a glimpse"
also, "Kummer 理论" means "Kummer theory", not "theorem".

view this post on Zulip Hypatia du Bois-Marie (Jan 18 2024 at 10:31):

Xuanrui Qi said:

Hey! Nice work. Li's Algebra is one of the best algebra textbooks I know, especially from a categorical/structural perspective. I'm a native Chinese speaker, so you're welcome to ask me in case of ambiguities.

It is indeed! I'm also fluent in Chinese.

view this post on Zulip Hypatia du Bois-Marie (Jan 18 2024 at 10:31):

Ah yes that's a typo

view this post on Zulip Xuanrui Qi (Jan 23 2024 at 06:57):

Ah, sorry, I didn't realize that. I thought you were French judging by the display name...

view this post on Zulip Hypatia du Bois-Marie (Jan 23 2024 at 14:57):

Lol I wish