Speaker: Tom Leinster (University of Glasgow) Title: An introduction to n-categories Event: Categories, Logic and Foundations of Physics IV (January 2009, Imperial College London) Abstract: I will give an beginners' introduction to n-categories. First I'll explain roughly what an n-category is, and talk about some of the dreams that first led people to want to develop a theory of n-categories. Then I'll go into more detail, leading up to a description of the state of the art and of some of the difficulties involved in trying to make those dreams come true. This is a completely introductory talk, for those who know nothing about n-categories. Experts will be bored senseless.