- Antoine Chambert-Loir was initiated into the secret math society Nicolas Bourbaki after a phone call, spending a week discussing math and later being tasked with completing a manuscript.
- Bourbaki, named after a 19th-century French general, started in 1934 as a response to either post-WWI knowledge loss or dissatisfaction with math textbooks.
- The group produced rigorous, self-contained books with a unique writing style that avoids gaps but lacks contextual narratives, coining terms like 'injective' and 'surjective'.
- Bourbaki's writing process involves collaborative, anonymous meetings with unanimous agreement for publication, emphasizing collective over individual credit.
- Though its book influence has waned, Bourbaki remains known for high-profile seminars, maintains anonymity as a 'spirit of fun', and continues writing despite modern publishing pressures.