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but would it contain itself ?


If it is a periodic table of all periodic tables then yes it would contain itself. Obviously.

If it was a periodic table of all periodic tables except those that contain itself then it would only contain itself if it does not contain itself, I mean it would not contain itself if it does contain itself, I mean, goddam it Bertrand Russell, how did you find me here? I signed up to Hacker News hoping to escape you once and for all!

-Gottlob Frege


Obviously. It'd be one of the tables known to Harvard. Just leave enough room for the ones to be discovered.


Every discovered table would contain items known to the state of California to be oncogenic.


> one of the tables known to Harvard

This has the cadence of a reference, but Google didn't help me. Am I missing something?


It's from The Elements, by Tom Lehrer (the final lyric of the song).

https://youtu.be/qyNkrlwKs7c


Thank you!


This'd make a nice lyric. If only "Harvard" rhymed with "discovered".


With the right accent, they rhyme.


you're suggesting a periodic table of all periodic tables that do not contain themselves. sounds doable.




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