Once upon a time, there were several blind men who had never seen an elephant. One day, they heard that someone had led an elephant over and they were very curious, eager to know what an elephant really looked like.
One of the blind men touched the elephant's leg. He said loudly, "I've got it. An elephant is like a big pillar, thick and strong." As he touched the elephant's leg, he described it to the others very confidently.
Another blind man touched the elephant's tail. Immediately, he retorted, "You're wrong. An elephant is like a rope, long and thin." He held the elephant's tail tightly, believing that he was the right one.
At this time, the third blind man touched the elephant's trunk. He also said unconvincedly, "You are all wrong. An elephant is like a big snake, curvy and able to move around." He felt the elephant's trunk over and over again.
Still another blind man touched the elephant's ear. He shouted, "You are all wrong. An elephant is like a big fan, large and soft." He gently stroked the elephant's ear.
Finally, the last blind man touched the elephant's body. He said slowly, "You are all wrong. An elephant is like a wall, wide and thick."
They kept arguing like this and none of them was willing to believe the others. At this moment, a sighted person nearby saw all this and said to them, "You are all right, but you only touched a part of the elephant and thought you knew the whole elephant. An elephant is a very large animal. Its leg is like a pillar, its tail is like a rope, its trunk is like a big snake, its ear is like a fan, and its body is like a wall. Only by combining all these parts can we get the real elephant." The blind men thought this statement was very reasonable and then realized that their understanding was too one - sided.
