Brushstrokes and Tensor Products: Painting with a Monoidal Category
Category Theory
2025-08-08 v1 History and Overview
Abstract
This article offers an intuitive introduction to monoidal categories through the lens of painting, presenting abstract mathematical concepts with visual and tactile analogies. Aimed at curious undergraduates and non-specialists, it seeks to demystify category theory by showing how ideas like the tensor product, associators, and braidings can be understood as compositional tools on a canvas.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2508.05482,
title = {Brushstrokes and Tensor Products: Painting with a Monoidal Category},
author = {Khyathi Komalan},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2508.05482},
year = {2025}
}
Comments
Currently under peer review at The Mathematical Intelligencer