Matroids and Abstraction Joseph Malkevitch of York College (CUNY) gives an Introductory lecture on Matroids, a mathematical construct, such as a group, a field, or a topology having a somewhat surprisingly large number of associated operators or special collections of subsets. Rather than hide from the inherent abstraction of the field, the author uses it as an example of how mathematical abstraction is key in determining the utility of mathematics and enabling its growth.