THE BLIND MEN AND THE ELEPHANT
The Blind Men and the Elephant, by John Godfrey Saxe, is a metaphor for how we treat our incomplete understanding of complex systems. Having limited information, we draw conclusions and argue extensively for our “opinions.” The poet was a native Vermonter, born in Highgate, in 1816, who attended Middlebury College. Early on, he practiced law in St. Albans, northwestern VT, near Canada. Then, by 1850, he focused more on literature, publishing, and the lecture circuit THE BLIND MEN AND THE ELEPHANT. A HINDOO FABLE. I. It was six men of Indostan To learning much inclined, Who went to see the Elephant (Though all of them were blind), That each by observation Might satisfy his mind. II. The First approached the Elephant, And happened to fall Against his broard and sturdy side, And began to brawl; “God bless me! But the Elephant Is very like a wall!” III. The Second feeling of the Tusk, Cried, “Ho! What have we here So very round and s...