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I've seen lately many people using this concept. I have searched the web, but there's no answer. Anyone knows what does a "Bourbaki Talk" mean?

Note: I am knowledgeable about the Bourbaki group. Nevertheless, I have never heard of the concept "Bourbaki Talk".

EDIT (after answer): A recent example is here: https://valuevar.wordpress.com/2017/01/14/bourbaki-talk/

Jack
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  • Can you place this into context? – Pedro Jan 14 '17 at 22:05
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Bourbaki – Will Jagy Jan 14 '17 at 22:07
  • I don't believe this has any specific context. People who announce their seminar talk or whatever, simply describe it as "I'm giving a Bourbaki talk". Thus, I'm quite certain that for these people this is a self-evident concept. Of course they are completely wrong, but it is usual that people often assume that what they know is universal and well-known. – Jack Jan 14 '17 at 22:08
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    Are your referring to the "Séminaires Bourbaki" ? http://www.bourbaki.ens.fr/ – anderstood Jan 14 '17 at 22:08
  • Thanks Jagy. But how does this explains it? I have read even a book about the Bourbaki group, and still I have no idea what this concept means. I can guess it might mean some very rigorous talk, but this is a guess. – Jack Jan 14 '17 at 22:09
  • See @anderstood's comment. – Did Jan 14 '17 at 22:10
  • Thanks anderstood. I don't read french, sorry. (And haven't seen it written in french or by french people). What do you mean? – Jack Jan 14 '17 at 22:11
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    I'm not the best person to talk about "Séminaires Bourbaki" but i) Bourbaki is a fictitious mathematician, see Will Jagy's link, ii) he gave his name to seminars, created in 1952 and mostly in French. I guess that saying "I've given a Bourbaki talk" means "I have given a talk in Séminaire Bourbaki", which is very prestigious (I guess). – anderstood Jan 14 '17 at 22:16
  • No, this is not the meaning. People are saying this NOW, at THIS moment. They announce a future "Bourbaki Talk". Is this seminar series still going on? – Jack Jan 14 '17 at 22:18
  • But why don't you ask them what they mean when they say it?!?! – Mariano Suárez-Álvarez Jan 14 '17 at 22:20
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    (yes, Bourbaki seminars are held every year) – Mariano Suárez-Álvarez Jan 14 '17 at 22:21
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    I don't know them. These are announcements on the web! – Jack Jan 14 '17 at 22:21
  • @MarianoSuárez-Álvarez, ah, you are correct! They mean the specific french seminar!!!! – Jack Jan 14 '17 at 22:23
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    You can see these explanations. The ‘Séminaire Bourbaki’ happens four times a year, at the Institut Henri Poincaré in Paris (january, march, june and november, on saturdays). The talks are not necessarily in French. – Bernard Jan 14 '17 at 22:25
  • You should provide context. As it is, your question is unanswerable: you are asking what some people who you do not mention mean when they say something somewhere on the web. Do you have a link, a name, something? Do you see how this is somewhat absurd? – Mariano Suárez-Álvarez Jan 14 '17 at 22:27
  • Provided the context now. – Jack Jan 14 '17 at 22:31
  • That link you included quite clearly explains what a Bourbaki talk is... – Mariano Suárez-Álvarez Jan 14 '17 at 22:33
  • Hence, I explain it was discovered after the answer. The initial announcments did not include explanations of the term. – Jack Jan 14 '17 at 22:33

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Due to the comments I found the answer (the problem was that on the web it is referred to always in French, and not English, hence it is virtually undiscoverable, except for French speakers) wikipedia:

“The Séminaire Nicolas Bourbaki (Bourbaki Seminar) is a series of seminars (in fact public lectures with printed notes distributed) that has been held in Paris since 1948. It is one of the major institutions of contemporary mathematics, and a barometer of mathematical achievement, fashion, and reputation. It is named after Nicolas Bourbaki, a group of French and other mathematicians of variable membership.”

A Bourbaki talk is always given by a speaker about other people’s work. It is accompanied by an expository paper explaining difficult recent material.

Jack
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  • "A Bourbaki talk is always given by a speaker about other people’s work." Well, there were well-known exceptions to this in the past... – Fred Rohrer Jan 24 '17 at 13:20