Optics vs Lenses, Operationally

Abstract: Optics, lenses, prisms, and similar abstract gadgets are our best friends when it comes to modelling bidirectional processes. While optics are more general than lenses, it's understood that they're equivalent in the special setting of a cartesian monoidal category. Fixing the setting of a cartesian monoidal category, in this talk I'll explore how this equivalence is denotational in nature, and the result of erasure of important operational data. I'll advocate that the operational aspect is not optional, but rather crucial in using these gadgets to understand real-world systems.

category theory

Audience: researchers in the topic

( video )

Intercats: Seminar on Categorical Interaction