The six blind men and the elephant



Perception and Prejudice

You may know the story of the six blind men and the elephant. Each blind man is touching a different part of the elephant.

One is touching the tusk and thinks that it is a spear. Another is touching the leg and thinks it is a tree trunk.

If you tell them that they are all touching the same thing, it is very likely that they will argue about what it is. Unless they are also truthful about their own limitations, it will be difficult for them to come to a unified vision about what they are touching.

This is the deepest kind of truthfulness: knowing your own limits.The filters we have as we perceive the world are important: they reflect our beliefs and help us sort the world efficiently. However, these filters can also hinder us and become blind spots or prejudices that prevent us from being open to the truth. In an OpenAgile environment, we strive to be open to the way other people perceive the world so that we can learn from them.

From OpenAgile Primer






Convictions

"A repertoire might be more useful than a conviction; especially if one wants to keep in mind that there are many kinds of good life."
In Italian:
"Un repertorio potrebbe rivelarsi più utile di una convinzione, soprattutto se si tiene presente che esiste più di un modo valido di vivere la vita. "


From: On Kissing, Tickling, and Being Bored by Adam Phillips



Print | posted @ lunedì 23 novembre 2009 22:08

Comments on this entry:

Gravatar # re: The six blind men and the elephant
by fremsoft at 30/11/2009 16:25

Secondo me se l'è mangiato! lol
Comments have been closed on this topic.