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SUMMARY:Abstraction in Mathematics - Dr Julia Goedecke (DPMMS)
DTSTART:20130218T203000Z
DTEND:20130218T213000Z
UID:TALK42838@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Mary Fortune
DESCRIPTION:The word abstraction often sounds daunting to many non-mathema
 ticians\, and probably also to some mathematicians. However\, abstraction 
 is all around us: not only in mathematics\, but also in the way we form te
 rms and concepts in our language. For example we all group together houses
 \, schools\, college chapels and skyscrapers under the word "building". So
  if we know something that is common to all buildings (for example that th
 ey have to be maintained)\, then we know this for every building we meet w
 ithout having to work it out anew in each case.\n\nMathematics builds heav
 ily on abstraction. Some even say that abstraction is the main ingredient 
 in mathematics. I will present some examples of mathematical concepts that
  arise as abstractions of well-known situations which every undergraduate 
 has met. My research area - category theory - can be called the most abstr
 act area of mathematics. We will try to explore the point of view and unde
 rlying principles that drive category theorists to their very abstract way
  of thinking.
LOCATION:Winstanley Lecture Theatre\, Trinity College
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