RETRACTED: A critique of the provisional report of the IUPAC Group 3 project

The content of this preprint has been incorporated into the preprint "The location and composition of Group 3: A follow-on examination," dated May 31, 2023 (10.26434/chemrxiv-2023-r4gtj). In this article I critique some grounds relied on by Scerri (2021) in provisionally suggesting that IUPAC could perhaps make a ruling that Group 3 of the periodic table should be composed of Sc-Y-Lu-Lr. My concerns have to do with the philosophical meaning of “compromise”; the popularity of periodic tables instead showing group 3 as Sc-Y-La-Ac; and the rarity of the 32-column form of periodic table. IUPAC has further evidenced a long-standing reluctance to issue guidance on the use of any particular form of periodic table, including the table appearing on its own web site. The provisional report of the IUPAC Group 3 project lacks objectiveness on these bases. IUPAC could nevertheless issue some carefully worded guidance to resolve the situation.