Date/Time
Date(s) - 01/02/2024
4:30 pm - 5:30 pm

Location: BSB B142

Speaker: Jan Arulseelan

Title: It Depends On What the Meaning of the Word ‘Is’ Is: An Introduction To Equality And HoTT

Abstract: Equality, identity and equivalence may all seem extremely simple to modern math students and schoolchildren. However, questions about identity have puzzled philosophers and inspired mathematics since at least the time of Aristotle. We will discuss some of the historical problems of equality including those involved in the development of modern set theory and some questions about extensionality. We will then discuss some basic ideas about homotopy type theory. Homotopy type theory is one of the most recent fields of study to be inspired by the concept of identity. We will describe higher identity types and work with infinity-categories intuitively. We will motivate our constructions with intensionality and Univalence.

Coffee available beforehand at 4pm in Hamilton Hall 216 (Lounge).

To propose a talk, please visit our website: https://sites.google.com/view/casual-math-seminar/give-a-talk