https://hackerpaper.kaipfister.de/p/math_0212377/Collected HN comments and submissions linking this paper.enMon, 02 Nov 2026 11:16:22 GMThttps://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47905221urn:hackerpapers:submission:math_0212377:47905221Sat, 25 Apr 2026 22:29:03 GMT<p>Objects of Categories as Complex Numbers (2002)</p><p></p><p>2 points; 0 discussion replies on HN. <a href="https://hackerpaper.kaipfister.de/p/math_0212377/">Paper and source history</a>. A submission is not an endorsement.</p>math.CThttps://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5198122urn:hackerpapers:mention:math_0212377:5198122Sun, 10 Feb 2013 22:00:44 GMT<p>Does it help if I tell you that types form a semiring[0]? Note that the natural numbers also form a semiring (with 0 as the additive identity and 1 as the multiplicative identity). The natural numbers can be embedded in the semiring of types, but they are a strict subset - there are types that don&#x27;t correspond to natural numbers (which addressed the point on the great-grandparent post). There&#x27;s a great paper by Fiore and Leinster[1] called &quot;Objects of Categories as Complex Numbers&quot; which shows how you can treat elements of some semirings as complex numbers for the purposes of proving…</p><p><a href="https://hackerpaper.kaipfister.de/p/math_0212377/">Paper and discussion history</a>. A mention is not an endorsement.</p>math.CT