FOM: Szolem Mandelbrojt and Bourbaki

Giuseppe Longo Giuseppe.Longo at ens.fr
Thu Oct 1 04:41:07 EDT 1998


> A.R.D.Mathias wrote:
>
> >So any information about the scope of Mandelbrojt's mathematical  
work,
> >and about his involvement with Bourbaki, and any psychological  
insights
> >into a possible estrangement from Bourbaki, would be most welcome. 
>
>         There is just a word about this in James Gleick's CHAOS  
(pp.89-90).
> In short he says Bourbaki was axiomatic and formal, and found geometry
> "untrustworthy". He says, Mandelbrot "fled the Ecole Normale because of
> Bourbaki and a few decades later he fled France for the same reason".

>>	Why not ask Mandelbrot's nephew Benoit?

News about ongoing activities of Bourbaki may be obtained by browsing in 
http://www.dmi.ens.fr/bourbaki/
It contains also lists and summaries of talks and papers  
(including, say, on Julia sets and related matters).  Perhaps, the  
authors of these talks or papers may be soundly informed of history  
as well.

--Giuseppe Longo
LIENS (CNRS) et DMI
Ecole Normale Superieure
45, Rue D'Ulm
75005  Paris   (France)

http://www.dmi.ens.fr/users/longo
e-mail: longo at dmi.ens.fr
(tel. ++33-1-4432-3328, secr.-3216;
FAX 4432-2080)



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