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Despite an individual's propensity for math, the math that a society uses influences the way that society functions. To date, the math we've been using (called set theory) is based on the notion of membership: an items is either a member of a group or class or not. So a positive number belongs to the class of positive numbers but not to the class of negative numbers; vice versa for negative numbers. It's an exclusionary system that promote strict equality: a positive number is not equal to a negative number because they don't belong to the same class.

Now, think about how that applies to conversations of race and class in humans: We set up a series of memberships and you are either wholly inside the club or wholly outside the club.

Now, the new math being adopted (called category theory) views it much differently. Instead of groups and class, we have relationships. So a positive number is related to all other positive numbers (is equal to them) but while still not being equal to a negative number, has a relationship to it: they are both numbers. This is why isomorphism in category theory is a stronger concept than equality in set theory; it means: not strictly equal but related in some way (literally, the word means "same shape" )

Now apply this categorical thinking to race and class: a rich person is still not equal to a poor person, a black person is still not equal to a white person. But they are both related to each other because they are all persons. In this way, we see that instead of clubs, instead of walls that keep us apart, we have relationships, arrows, that point this way and that, and relate us all in ways that aren't equal but don't create insurmountable divisions among us all.

Category Theory is the new math. It's not well known and it's not widely used outside of academic mathematical and scientific circles. But it is the change the world needs: change the math, change the world; change the equation, change the conversation.

Deny equality.
Embrace isomorphism.

Deny membership.
Embrace relationship.

Deny set theory.
Embrace category theory.

TheMiddleWay 8 Oct 1
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7 comments

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Ohferpetessake.....

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"Set Theory”? Are you getting your information out of an old issue of Reader's Digest? That's not what Set Theory is!

Mathematics is an honorable pursuit, please don't invoke its name to support your sociological theories.

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Word Level 8 Oct 2, 2020
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What you are describing is called reason and logic. It was (relatively) alive and well in my younger day. Sadly, you are premature in believing it is coming back into fashion.

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Different forms of math are used to explain different problems and data to be used in different ways and for different solutions. Math is a tool use it wisely.

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I like it!!

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Set Theory is BS in the real world

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