TITLE: The Arnold – Serre debate
QUESTION [66 upvotes]: I have read (but I cannot now find where) that V. I. Arnold & J.-P. Serre had a public debate on the value of Bourbaki. Does anyone have more details, or remember or know what was said?

REPLY [9 votes]: In retrospect it does not seem that Arnold's 2+5=5+2 comment was that effective particularly in view of the information provided by Joël. On the other hand, there is one aspect of this matter that did not come out sufficiently in the earlier answers. Namely, Arnold is a fabulous pedagogue. To give a quick example, his book Mathematical methods of classical mechanics has benefited thousands, if not millions, of readers. Many people share his doubts about the effectiveness of the Bourbaki method. Verbal excesses of course cannot be justified but there is a genuine issue there nonetheless.