Back to Henry Ford
Nov. 12th, 2016 09:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
timeletsWhat if I wanted to describe a technology — any technology — in terms of Category Theory? To do this I need to define a category that has a domain, a codomain, and an arrow between them.
The codomain is easy: it's a product of goods and consumers (see an earlier discussion on transactions). For example, in Henry Ford's case it'll be an automobile and an owner. Right here we can see that he invented the codomain itself because both the automobile and the owner are different from before (need to describe alternatives briefly).
What about the domain? The domain is a product of ingredients, capital and labor. Here, we can see that he invented the domain too. That is, he invented new kinds of parts and units, new kinds of machines, and a new kind of labor.
Then, the arrow between the domain and codomain is the assembly line process and mass sales/marketing/distribution organizations.
This is it. Once the the category is invented, we can populate it with all kinds of objects and arrows: from cars, to washing machines, to personal computers.
The technology revolution we are entering now involves a small change in the domain, i.e. replacement of labor (workers) with capital (robots). Another aspect of the revolution is that the codomain is saturated with stuff (in the developed world).
Also interesting to think about the invention of China by Deng Xiaoping in the 1970s. Modi is attempting to create the same category, by reinventing India.
As a side note, to "Make America Great Again" in Trump's sense, we need to uninvent both China and the current tech revolution, which is not going to happen. It's funny that the country intends to waste a lot of time, money and effort trying to uninvent a major existing category, instead of inventing a new one. I wonder how Peter Thiel is going to deal with this luddite crap in the Trump administration.
upd. It would be interesting to ask startups about their domains, codomains and arrows.
The codomain is easy: it's a product of goods and consumers (see an earlier discussion on transactions). For example, in Henry Ford's case it'll be an automobile and an owner. Right here we can see that he invented the codomain itself because both the automobile and the owner are different from before (need to describe alternatives briefly).
What about the domain? The domain is a product of ingredients, capital and labor. Here, we can see that he invented the domain too. That is, he invented new kinds of parts and units, new kinds of machines, and a new kind of labor.
Then, the arrow between the domain and codomain is the assembly line process and mass sales/marketing/distribution organizations.
This is it. Once the the category is invented, we can populate it with all kinds of objects and arrows: from cars, to washing machines, to personal computers.
The technology revolution we are entering now involves a small change in the domain, i.e. replacement of labor (workers) with capital (robots). Another aspect of the revolution is that the codomain is saturated with stuff (in the developed world).
Also interesting to think about the invention of China by Deng Xiaoping in the 1970s. Modi is attempting to create the same category, by reinventing India.
As a side note, to "Make America Great Again" in Trump's sense, we need to uninvent both China and the current tech revolution, which is not going to happen. It's funny that the country intends to waste a lot of time, money and effort trying to uninvent a major existing category, instead of inventing a new one. I wonder how Peter Thiel is going to deal with this luddite crap in the Trump administration.
upd. It would be interesting to ask startups about their domains, codomains and arrows.
