The Stone Gamut: A Coordinatization of Mathematics Vaughan R. Pratt∗ Dept. of Computer Science Stanford University Stanford, CA 94305
[email protected] 415-494-2545, fax 415-857-9232 Abstract shape and vertically by diversity of entries. Along the We give a uniform representation of the objects of horizontal axis we find Boolean algebras at the co- mathematical practice as Chu spaces, forming a con- herent or “tall” end, sets at the discrete or “flat” crete self-dual bicomplete closed category and hence a end, and all other objects in between, with finite- constructive model of linear logic. This representa- dimensional vector spaces and complete semilattices tion distributes mathematics over a two-dimensional in the middle as square matrices. In the vertical space we call the Stone gamut. The Stone gamut is direction we find lattice structures near the bottom, coordinatized horizontally by coherence, ranging from binary relations higher up, groups higher still, and so −1 for sets to 1 for complete atomic Boolean alge- on. bras (CABA’s), and vertically by complexity of lan- Chu spaces were first described in enriched gen- guage. Complexity 0 contains only sets, CABA’s, and erality by M. Barr to his student P.-H. Chu, whose the inconsistent empty set. Complexity 1 admits non- master’s thesis on Chu(V, k), the V -enriched category interacting set-CABA pairs. The entire Stone duality produced by what since came to be called the Chu con- menagerie of partial distributive lattices enters at com- struction, became the appendix to Barr’s monograph plexity 2.