You can get by with Scala, or Functional Programming in general, without an understanding of category theory, although naturally some CT concepts will creep into your understanding without you realizing it.
Category Theory basically provides a framework for talking about composability in rigorous language. It's important if you want to grok Functional Programming concepts, but you can get by without it just fine.
Category Theory basically provides a framework for talking about composability in rigorous language. It's important if you want to grok Functional Programming concepts, but you can get by without it just fine.