Seeing the Whole Elephant: The Problem of Incomplete Information in Understanding Reality

Source: Thinking Is Power

Two weeks ago, I posted a visual comparison of Taoism and Buddhism, designed to spark reflection and conversation. The chart contrasted Taoism’s this-worldly, life-loving orientation with Buddhism’s more otherworldly and ascetic tendencies — a generalization, to be sure, but one rooted in historical and philosophical realities. While some readers appreciated the insight, others responded with anger, interpreting the image as a malicious attack on Buddhism. This reaction underscores a broader issue: the limits of perception and the problem of incomplete information in how we understand the world. In addition, there is also the question of how to gain the attention of a generation which has very limited attention span.

The Elephant and the Cylinder

There’s a classic parable of three blind men encountering an elephant for the first time. One touches the trunk and concludes the elephant is like a snake. Another touches the leg and insists it’s a pillar. A third grabs the tail and claims it’s a rope. Each one is right — and wrong — at the same time. Their conclusions are shaped entirely by their limited vantage points.

A modern analog to this parable is an image circulated online showing a cylinder casting different shadows. From…