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@johncarlosbaez@mathstodon.xyz

Post #1815100

2024-07-04 14:24 UTC

@hallasurvivor - Various people have argued that "topological space" is a kind of big tent, or compromise, that people chose to handle a number of quite different tasks. I forget who these people are, but it sounds true. I'm glad Scholze is trying to map out the different tasks and propose substitutes optimized for these different tasks. I'm afraid this is going to be tough. For you - or maybe him? - locales are obviously THE right thing to consider if you're doing pointset topology. But those hidebound traditionalists, the pointset topologists, may cling to working with spaces that are sets of points. 😏 But never mind them. What's an animus, exactly? Is it supposed to be some more mystical-sounding synonym for infinity-groupoid or homotopy type, or is it something more specific?

Replies (1)

  • @hallasurvivor@sunny.garden 2024-07-04 14:30

    @johncarlosbaez As I understand, it's literally a synonym for a homotopy type. It's supposed to be something like the "soul" or "true essence" of a topological space (at least if you're a homotopy theorist) which explains the fun name. I'm a fan of whimsy in math where I can find it, so maybe I should switch over to saying "animus". If I ever teach a class on this stuff I'll have to wear like wizard robes and a pointy hat when I introduce it :P

    Open ##1815101