Brian Johnson tells the parable of six blind men touching different parts of an elephant, each convinced they're right. The story illustrates how people hold partial truths and mistake them for the whole picture. Johnson argues for humility in disagreements and genuine curiosity about what others actually see.
Chapters
Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another arete plus one degree, a micro chapter. One of 451 micro chapters from Arete. Activate your heroic potential. You and an elephant. A parable about blind guys and perspective. Once upon a time, in a land far away, six blind guys had never seen an elephant before. They had no idea what an elephant was or what one looked like. They each walked up to the elephant at a different spot. The first blind guy touched the side of the elephant and declares, this is like a wall. The second guy touches the tail and says, no, this is like a rope. The third guy touches the trunk and declares, this is like a snake. The fourth guy grabs the tusk and says, this is like a spear. Our fifth fellow touches the ear and says, this is like a fan. And finally, our sixth blind guy touches a leg and says, this is like a tree trunk. Now, here's what's interesting. All those blind guys are 100% sure that they're 100% right. Of course, they're not. Their perspectives are only partially true. Now, we laugh at this story, but guess what? Same rules apply for us in that last political debate we had, or that little argument with a spouse or child or colleague. We tend to think that we're 100% right and that the other person is 100% wrong. But as Ken Wilber says, no one is smart enough to be 100% right about anything. Nor is anyone smart enough or silly enough to be 100% wrong about anything. There's always a partial truth to every perspective. And if we want to optimize our communication, we'd be wise to start our dialogues by trying to see the other person's perspective, finding a place of mutual agreement, and then, and only then, respectfully tiptoeing to the outer edges of potential disagreement. So the plus one degree. The next time you feel a little frustrated during an interpersonal interaction, take a moment to see if you think you're 100% right. Then see if you can step back from your certainty and try to see the other person's perspective. Remember the blind guys and their six different elephants as you embody a little more humility and curiosity today.
