[FOM] Tarski's limerick

charles silver silver_1 at mindspring.com
Wed Jan 12 11:15:52 EST 2005


    Many years ago I heard 
Tarski recite a very nice
limerick.  I have asked
many people close to 
Tarski whether they 
have ever heard it.  No 
one has.   I'll ask once
again on this forum.

    The essence of the 
limerick is this: Bertrand
Russell has been hired
to teach a class in set 
theory.  However, when
BR tries to find his class,
he is unable to do so, 
because it turns out that
it's the class of all classes
that don't contain themselves.

    I would be _extremely_
grateful to anyone who can
tell me this limerick.  I realize
there are a couple of others
involving Bertrand Russell,
but it's the exact one recited
by Tarski with the elements
indicated above that I'm 
looking for.

    Thanks for any help,

Charlie Silver




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