When Mendeleev began teaching at the University, there were 63 known elements, each identified by atomic weights newly determined by Avogadro's hypothesis. He had to develop some system of classification. The two basic methods for dividing the elements—into metals and metalloids (nonmetals) or by using the new concept of valency—seemed unhelpful to Mendeleev. He chose to write his own textbook instead and work out the challenges of classification himself.

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "When Mendeleev began teaching at the University, there were 63 known elements, each identified by atomic weights newly determined by Avogadro's hypothesis. He had to develop some system of classification. The two basic methods for dividing the elements—into metals and metalloids (nonmetals) or by using the new concept of valency—seemed unhelpful to Mendeleev. He chose to write his own textbook instead and work out the challenges of classification himself." in the context of "Michael D. Gordin, A Well-Ordered Thing: Dimitrii Mendeleev and the Shadow of the Periodic Table (2004)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.