I am glad to share the slides of my recent talk at the ICBS Satellite Conference on Algebraic and Arithmetic Geometry, where I explained how Fraïssé theory and Galois theory can be extended and linked through a unified topos-theoretic framework that can possibly be applied to the problem of constructing motives and understanding the “independence of l” properties of l-adic cohomology.
Tag Archives: Grothendieck
Videos of the Paris event of the Grothendieck Institute
The videos of the recent conference organized by the Grothendieck Institute at the Institut Henri Poincaré are now available from the Institute’s YouTube channel:
The event consisted in a round table with Alain Connes, Johanna Grothendieck and Laurent Lafforgue, moderated by Stéphane Dugowson and preceded by two brief presentations by Mateo Carmona, Coordinator of the Centre for Grothendieckian Studies, and myself.
Enjoy the videos!
Visions in mathematics: from Grothendieck to the present day
The Grothendieck Institute is hosting a conference for the general public on 14 June 2023 at the Institut Henri Poincaré in Paris. This meeting, entitled “Visions in mathematics: from Grothendieck to the present day“, will explore, with talks by Mateo Carmona, Alain Connes, Stéphane Dugowson, Johanna Grothendieck, Laurent Lafforgue and myself, the issues raised by the person and visionary work of A. Grothendieck from a philosophical, literary and sociological perspective. It will also discuss mathematical themes such as topos theory and its future in today’s mathematical landscape, industrial research and the dissemination of scientific knowledge.
The conference is free of charge and open to all upon prior registration on the Institute’s website.
Looking forward to seeing many of you there!

Talk at Logica Universalis Webinar
On Wednesday the 17th of May at 4 CET I will give a talk at the Logica Universalis Webinar on the contents of my paper “The unification of Mathematics via Topos Theory”, originally written in 2010 and recently published in the book “Logic in Question” (Studies in Universal Logic, Springer-Birkhäuser, 2022).
The talk will be accompanied by a short presentation of the Grothendieck Institute by Laurent Lafforgue.
Looking forward to seeing many of you there!
Slides: “Relative topos theory via stacks: an introduction”
The slides of my introductory course to relative toposes recently given at the Lagrange Center are now available:
Videos of the inaugural event of the Grothendieck Institute
The videos of the inauguration of the Grothedieck Institute, which took place on the 3rd of December in Mondovì, are now available from YouTube.
The event was held in Italian, with transations from French of Johanna Grothendieck and Laurent Lafforgue’ talks. Stil, automatic translated subtitles are available in all languages, through the relevant YouTube option.
Thanks again to all the speakers, and to the Municipality of Mondovì for the collaboration in the organization of this event!
Visit to Luxembourg
Tomorrow and on Friday I shall visit the University of Luxembourg, and give a talk on toposes as ‘bridges’ and their applications to artificial intelligence. More details about the talk can be found here.
Looking forward to it!
On Copernicus and Grothendieck
The slides of my recent talk at the conference in honor of Jean-Jacques Szceciniarz are available here:
The talk presents an analogy between the role of the Sun in Copernicus’ vision and that of Grothendieck toposes as ‘bridges’ between different mathematical theories, by building on the general notion of a ‘bridge’ object:

Interview for Radio3 Scienza
Today’s episode of the Italian national radio Radio3 Scienza was entirely devoted to the newly inaugurated Grothendieck Institute. I was interviewed by Roberta Fulci together with Laurent Lafforgue and Johanna Grothendieck, who both participated in the inaugural event on Saturday.
You may listen to the recording here.
Grothendieck Institute
On 3 December 2022, the inaugural event of the recently founded Grothendieck Institute will take place at 3:00 p.m. in the Aula Magna of the Mondovì campus of the Polytechnic of Turin. The event, which is sponsored by the Municipality of Mondovì, will be held in Italian and will see the participation of numerous guests, including Johanna Grothendieck (Alexander’s daughter and member of the Institute’s Board of Directors), Laurent Lafforgue (member of the Institute’s Scientific Council), Gino Zaccaria (Professor of Philosophy at Bocconi University) and Nicoletta Sabadini (Professor of Computer Science at the University of Insubria). The round table and the subsequent exchange with the public will be moderated by national TV journalist Francesca Ronchin.
The title of the event is “All’ascolto della voce delle cose. Un progetto visionario per la matematica e non solo“. The expression “all’ascolto della voce delle cose” belongs to Grothendieck himself, who said “Ce qui fait la qualité de l’inventivité et de l’imagination du chercheur, c’est la qualité de son attention, à l’écoute de la voix des choses” (“The quality of a researcher’s inventiveness and imagination is the quality of his attention, to hearing the voices of things”):
Among the topics that will be addressed in the round table, in a way which is accessible to the general public, are basic research and its applications, scientific creativity, the figure of Alexander Grothendieck as an example of the kind of relationship that can exist between scientific studies, humanistic sensitivity and social commitment, abstraction and its relationship with art, ethics in scientific research.
Looking forward to seeing many of you there!