[denverllc]

Every other item in your list is actually used to produce technology except one.

Compilers? Used to produce executables form source code.

Programming language? Allows us to write code using higher abstraction.

Distributed systems? Allows us to build systems across multiple machines, users, continents, etc.

GPU? Allows us to speed up heavily parallel code for graphics and scientific applications.

Assembly? Allows us to write closer to the hardware.

CPU architecture? Allows us to understand what our code runs on.

If anything, this list shows how category theory is not like the other things programmers could spend time on. If the goal is “learn a bunch of math to expand your math skill”, then maybe category theory makes sense. If the goal is to become a better programmer then I think there are better uses of time.

[benrutter]

I suppose that's true - but then I would suggest that type systems are (at least to some extent) the application of category theory.

It's hard to see how learning about Hindley-Milner type inference isn't academic type theory (which I'd argue is a category theory subfield) but applying Hindley-Milner type inference is clearly practical and related to producing technology.

I'm not saying all branches of category theory have a section that relates to directly producing technology, but I'd definitely argue that some do.