The periodic table is probably the first concept you learn in chemistry classes or even in more junior science classes in high school. So most us who aren’t doing research to uncover new elements probably have a pretty stubborn, emotional attachment to the way the periodic table is laid out (or maybe it’s just me).

So when I saw this graphic in the science section of today’s NY Times, showing various ways it’s been proposed over the years to rearrange the table into a more spiral-like shape (in light of newly discovered elements), I have to admit to recoiling a bit. For one thing, this new shape strikes me as not being very easy to learn or picture in one’s mind. Of course, nature is not simple enough to be portrayed in neat little tables, but perhaps there’s still room for the simpler version in high school classrooms, and saving the spiral ones for college classes. Would we then call it the periodic spiral?