"I never thought about that, the fear. I'll give it some consideration," she said, seriously. She hadn't taken what they had seen that way, but if h had, it was worth looking into.
"As for the story, it is a short one, but one that seems to be relevant time and again. It is simply this. Once there were four blind men, great friends of old, who encountered an elephant for the first time. They had never heard of an elephant before and asked the handler to tell them about the creature. And the handler told them they could go ahead and touch the elephant, and then say what they think first.
"And so the four men did. One touched the tail and told the others that an elephant is thin and round like a snake. Another touched the elephant's flank and said that an elephant is massive and flat and tall. Another felt the elephant's leg and agreed to round, but massive. And the fourth touched the ear, and agreed with flat and thin. The four men started to argue, each sure of what he knew, and thus now thinking his friends had lied to him, and were insisting on their lies. It made them call into question all their friends had told them before. For each knew what they had felt, each knew what an elephant was. And when the handler was willing to explain, none of the men were willing to listen. To anyone. The four friends parted ways, friends no longer. Because each was certain in what they knew, because they had experienced it for themselves."
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2025-03-09 12:32 pm (UTC)"As for the story, it is a short one, but one that seems to be relevant time and again. It is simply this. Once there were four blind men, great friends of old, who encountered an elephant for the first time. They had never heard of an elephant before and asked the handler to tell them about the creature. And the handler told them they could go ahead and touch the elephant, and then say what they think first.
"And so the four men did. One touched the tail and told the others that an elephant is thin and round like a snake. Another touched the elephant's flank and said that an elephant is massive and flat and tall. Another felt the elephant's leg and agreed to round, but massive. And the fourth touched the ear, and agreed with flat and thin. The four men started to argue, each sure of what he knew, and thus now thinking his friends had lied to him, and were insisting on their lies. It made them call into question all their friends had told them before. For each knew what they had felt, each knew what an elephant was. And when the handler was willing to explain, none of the men were willing to listen. To anyone. The four friends parted ways, friends no longer. Because each was certain in what they knew, because they had experienced it for themselves."