A list is a monad

I think the most intuitive description for a monad I've ever seen is 'flatMappable'.

Context: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Refe...

Usually articles that describe them in a very Math-y way go above my head. But the definition above was immediately clear (I saw it on HN).

I think this article is a bit more approachable than others I've read, but it still gets very confusing near the end.

Reminds me on an analogy for a monad I once heard. Not sure if it is correct because I lack the mathematical understanding to verify.

Anyway, a nested To-Do list is (allegedly) a common form of a monad. Say I am trying to clean my whole house. Well, I could have an item for a task like cleaning the kitchen that has each task I need to do in the kitchen in order for the kitchen to be cleaned. I can do the same for the living room, garage, etc..

However, that is mainly for organization purposes. While I may write the tasks in a nested manner, I could very well write each item as just a long flat list of To-Do tasks, and in reality, all the tasks are effectively completed as if they were one large flat list.

Is that kind of what you mean by 'flatMappable'? Nested To-Do lists being flattened and mapped to one large list? As in, a To-Do list of To-Do lists is just a single, larger To-Do list?