There is an old story about several blind men who encountered an elephant. This story plays an important role in several religions around the Indian subcontinent, as explained in great detail in Wikipedia.
Here Is My Version:
“Once upon a time, an aide brought an elephant into a home for the blind in India where a team of scholars was writing the first blind dictionary. A number of blind men soon surrounded the elephant. The first man, after feeling the elephant’s leg, declared that an elephant is like a pillar. He then proceeded to jot down his notes. The second man, holding the tail, announced that an elephant was like a rope before he recorded his findings. The scholar next to the elephant’s ear decided that this creature was like a winnowing basket. Another by the trunk couldn’t quite figure out whether he was dealing with a tree branch or a water spout. He took careful notes. Other men found the belly to be a wall or a granary, and the tusk to be either a solid pipe or a plowshare. The head resembled a pot, the back a throne, and lastly, the tip of the tail evoked a brush.
While reviewing their notes, a discussion broke out among the scholars about their differing individual findings. Since each of the men was certain that his own observations were correct, an argument developed. It grew heated, and before long the team was embroiled in a full brawl. Only one man survived the scuffle. He proceeded with the project and as a result, it was his (limited) definition of an elephant that ultimately went into the blind dictionary. It remained there for many, many years. While this man was finishing his work, he neglected the elephant. The elephant eventually became hungry, and then agitated. It wound up trampling the man to death as it made it’s escape.”
The Rest of the Story*
To see the Note click here.To hide the Note click here.
* with a tip of the hat to the late Paul Harvey
A
The aide returned a couple days later to find everyone dead and no elephant. So he ran to get the police and then returned home. After their investigation of the scene, the police concluded that the elephant was the principal suspect in all of the killings. Using the last scholar’s description, they put out a bulletin for it’s capture. When they canvassed the neighborhood, one gentleman asked if this was the same pink elephantD that had been haunting him for years. After reviewing the notes of the victims and other evidence at the scene, they found nothing that would rule out that possibility. After an exhaustive search, however, the perpetrating pink pillar was never found and the case was eventually closed.
So What?
There have been several morals derived from the earlier versions of this story. This story reveals important human foibles. I may be referring to this story in future discussions and possibly coming to my own conclusions.