The Ten Blind Men and the Elephant
Seeing the bigger picture: The dangers of narrow-mindedness
“The belief that there is only one truth and that oneself is in possession of it seems to me the deepest root of all evil that is in the world.”
— Max Born
The Fable of the 10 Blind Men and the Elephant is a well-known story that has been told in many different cultures throughout history. The story goes like this:
Once upon a time, ten blind men came across an elephant. Each of them wanted to know what the elephant looked like, so they began to touch and feel the different parts of the elephant’s body.
The first blind man touched the elephant’s trunk and said, “An elephant is like a snake!”
The second blind man touched the elephant’s ear and said, “No, an elephant is like a fan!”
The third blind man touched the elephant’s leg and said, “You are both wrong! An elephant is like a tree trunk!”
And so on, each of the blind men touched a different part of the elephant and described it in their own way, based on their own limited perspective.
In the end, none of the blind men were able to agree about what the elephant looked like. Each of them was convinced that their own perspective was correct, and that the others were wrong.
This story challenges us to try and see “the bigger picture”. Our limited perspective and individual biases tend to leave us with a rather narrow-minded view of things.
Our view may well be accurate - and 100% true - but its not necessarily the whole truth.
Each man’s experience with the elephant is valid, but incomplete. None of them can see the whole picture, and as a result, their conclusions are flawed.
We deceive ourselves by reinforcing ideas which are favorable to one official narrative and by demonizing opposing ideas and other information which might contradict it.
Everybody is indoctrinated on some level. We start out with a pre-formed belief system based on our upbringing and what we learn and experience from our parents and others in the formative years of our life.
Hollywood, the media, politicians, they all exacerbate this limited view and even propagate false or misleading views to funnel us into an “official narrative” that tends to favor those in power.
“The only thing I know is that I know nothing, and I am not quite sure that I know that.”
― Socrates
Why did Socrates say this? And what did he mean by it?
Socrates believed that the beginning of wisdom was knowing that you knew nothing; that much of what passed for knowledge among “wise” men were their own unexamined assumptions.
Socrates believed that knowledge could only be gained through vigorous questioning and discussion. He argued that if we are at least aware of how little we actually know, then we can begin to gain knowledge by asking questions and engaging in conversations with others.
Socratic skepticism, as expressed in the quote “I know that I know nothing”, highlights the importance of being aware of our limitations and remaining open to the possibility that our understanding of something may be incomplete or flawed. It suggests that we should be willing to question our assumptions and beliefs, and to seek out new information and perspectives in order to deepen our understanding.
Our subjective POV may seem on the surface like all there is to it. Pattern matching connects the dots — Closure fills the gaps. Our minds trick us into believing we completely understand and that we are well informed and therefore know the “right answer”.
But what is the ‘“right answer”? And how do we know that the other person has the “wrong answer”
“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”
— Aristotle
In order to disagree with something, we must first understand it — we must understand what we are disagreeing with. And to do that we must first embrace it on some level, as if it were true, then and only then can we analyze it truthfully and determine whether we believe it to be true or false.
To know what is true and what is false, shouldn’t we first make sure all the facts are laid out on the table in front of us?
“The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts.”
— Bertrand Russell
A wise person, even one who had never experienced the elephant in person, could listen to each man’s story and piece together an image of the elephant probably more accurate than any of the men who had actually “seen” the elephant. Not all knowledge is empirical.
We should be willing to question our own beliefs, and be open to learning from others. By doing so, we can gain a deeper and more complete understanding of the truth.
By educating ourselves and learning from others, we can gain a more complete and accurate understanding of the world around us. By looking inward and examining our own potential biases we can learn to see the whole elephant, rather than just one small part of it.
It was six men of IndostanTo learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.
The First approached the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
"God bless me! but the Elephant
Is very like a wall!"
The Second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried, -"Ho! what have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me 'tis mighty clear
This wonder of an Elephant
Is very like a spear!"
The Third approached the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up and spake:
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a snake!"
The Fourth reached out his eager hand,
And felt about the knee.
"What most this wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain," quoth he,
"'Tis clear enough the Elephant
Is very like a tree!"
The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said: "Even the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an Elephant
Is very like a fan!"
The Sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Then, seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope,
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a rope!"
And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!
MORAL.
So oft in theologic wars,
The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
Of what each other mean,
And prate about an Elephant
Not one of them has seen!
- John Godfrey Saxe ( 1816-1887)
