Six wise men who had never seen an elephant before came across one resting in a royal courtyard. Curious, they reached out to touch it to understand what it was. The first man touched its massive leg and declared, 'An elephant is like a thick wooden pillar!' The second touched its sweeping tusk and shouted, 'No, it is sharp and smooth like a spear!' The third touched its squirming trunk and argued, 'You are both wrong, it is like a thick garden hose!' The fourth touched its giant ear and said, 'It is just like a giant fan.' As they began arguing loudly, claiming each other was completely wrong, a wise passerby smiled and gently intervened: 'None of you are wrong, but none of you have the whole picture either. You are each feeling a different part of one magnificent animal! To understand the truth, you must combine all your perspectives together.'