diff --git a/preserves.md b/preserves.md
index 0f25ef9..0757c2e 100644
--- a/preserves.md
+++ b/preserves.md
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ incrementally specify a total order over `Value`s. Two values of the
 same kind are compared using kind-specific rules. The ordering among
 values of different kinds is essentially arbitrary, but having a total
 order is convenient for many tasks, so we define it as
-follows:[^ordering-by-syntax]
+follows:
 
             (Values)        Atom < Compound
 
@@ -70,10 +70,6 @@ follows:[^ordering-by-syntax]
             (Atoms)         Boolean < Float < Double < SignedInteger
                               < String < ByteString < Symbol
 
-  [^ordering-by-syntax]: The observant reader may note that the
-    ordering here is the same as that implied by the tagging scheme
-    used in the concrete binary syntax for `Value`s.
-
 **Equivalence.**<a name="equivalence"></a> Two `Value`s are equal if
 neither is less than the other according to the total order.