This textbook introduces category theory to readers with little mathematical background beyond linear algebra. Spivak builds the subject through examples rather than proofs, using ologs (ontology logs) as a visual tool for modeling scientific ideas. The text presents category theory as a language for clarifying assumptions and connecting diverse fields, and it argues that the ideas are useful throughout science.

Key Topics

• Ologs and conceptual modeling
• Monoids, groups, and graphs as categories
• Functors and natural transformations
• Database schemas and instances
• Adjunctions and limits

Author: David I. Spivak