A Categorical Defense of Our Future

By: Esteban Montero, Brandon Baylor

Narrated by: Frank B. Iwan Jr.

Pragmatic yet ambitious, A Categorical Defense of Our Future offers a cutting-edge mental framework based on the union of categorical mathematics and art that can help engineers, business leaders, and other ambitious individuals better understand and manipulate the complex systems prevailing in today’s increasingly connected world.

System design and engineering are breaking in the face of modern complexity. Our world is now too complex and interconnected to successfully navigate using our current tools and intuition. Using outdated mental frameworks in our decision-making has unintended consequences, and these consequences are increasingly severe. We need to start thinking about systems in a completely different way, and we need to start doing so now.

After graduating from MIT and working in systems engineering for years, we became increasingly frustrated by traditional engineering and design approaches. We have seen millions of dollars spent on solutions that aren't working, and in the process, we began to wonder if there was a better way to view and alter modern systems.

Our proposed paradigm is based on the idea that we can understand anything, no matter how complex, by understanding its relationships to other things. The concept isn’t based on labels. It’s all about relationships, interactions, and transformations. It’s the math and science of connections, and it is the way of thinking behind art.

After considering the directions that art, categorical mathematics, and new analogies take us, we coined the word compcreation (composition and creation) for a proposed method of systems design that, through composition, acknowledges and incorporates the chaotic consequences that arise from what we create.

Marked by clarity rather than simplicity, this method incorporates interactions between entities, network effects, compounded effects, and chaos itself. This new paradigm for building systems is the way forward. Perfect for listeners who enjoyed Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking Fast and Slow and Max Tegmark’s Life 3.0, A Categorical Defense of Our Future is an essential audiobook for those seeking a better way to understand and navigate modern systems.

©2022 Esteban Montero and Brandon Baylor (P)2022 Esteban Montero and Brandon Baylor

Must-read!

As thought provoking as it comes. One of those books we’ll look back on in 20 years as a pivotal piece of literature in engineering and beyond!