The X that can be Y is not the true X

Yet another instance of hackerdom's peculiar attraction to mystical references - a common humorous way of making exclusive statements about a class of things.

The template is from the "Tao te Ching": "The Tao which can be spoken of is not the true Tao."

The implication is often that the X is a mystery accessible only to the enlightened.

See the trampoline entry for an example, and compare has the X nature.

[Jargon File]

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The Real-Time Operating System Nucleus There's More Than One Way To Do It Theseus The story of Mel, a Real Programmer The World Of Cryton	has the X nature	thicket thicknet thin client ThingLab Think C