REMEMBER THE MIDRASH OF THE BLIND PEOPLE AND THE ELEPHANT? EACH ONE TOUCHED A DIFFERENT PART OF THE ANIMAL AND THEN DESCRIBED THE ELEPHANT BASED ON THEIR OWN PARTICULAR PERCEPTIONS. ONE COMPARED THE ELEPHANT TO A LONG, POWERFUL TUBE. A SECOND PORTRAYED THE ELEPHANT AS AN ENORMOUS BARREL. A THIRD, FEELING THE ELEPHANT'S EARS, DEPICTED IT AS RESEMBLING LARGE DRAPES. EACH PERSON DESCRIBED WHAT THEY KNEW--ACCURATE AS A CHARACTERIZATION OF PART OF THE ELEPHANT, BUT COMPLETELY MISLEADING AS A REPRESENTATION OF THE ENTIRE ANIMAL. Read more...