6 Blind men, an Elephant, and product design
Lessons learned from an ancient parable.
It was the third time I had heard the story in as many months, and it's gravity continued to hit me hard. The following is a shortened interpretation of an eastern parable brought to life in John Godfrey Saxe's version
The Story
In a small village, 6 blind men were constantly fighting. They had heard rumors of elephants. An animal so powerful it could trample forests with a trumpet like roar that strikes fear into young and old. The blind men argued day and night about what it must look like. Surely it must be a giant! The villagers quickly became tired of all the pointless arguing, so they decided to bring an elephant to the men.
Excited to learn who was right, the blind men wondered up, each touching the elephant.
One touched his side: Screaming, he proclaimed “Elephants are like a smooth big wall!”
Another touched his trunk. Scoffing, he said “No, elephants are like a snake!”
The third touched his ear, sharing “Elephants are like a banana leaf.”
The fourth, feeling his tail said “No, no. Elephants are like a rope.”
By now, they were growing even more frustrated.
The fifth touched his tusk. “No, clearly the elephant is like a spear. Sharp and pointed.”
The sixth touched one of the elephant’s legs. “It is none of what you said. It is simply a large cow!”
What the villagers thought would end the arguments only escalated them, and the blind men began fighting over what an elephant was again. The villagers gave up, deciding the discussion would continue for eternity.
Then passed a wise man from a neighboring village. He too, annoyed by the arguments, stopped and spoke to the group.
“What each of you say about the elephant is true, but only when you share each of your understandings can you come to the ultimate truth”.
Lessons Learned
While each of the men were partly right, it could be said their assumptions were mostly wrong. In life, just like in this story of the blind men, we sometimes are only able to understand own our truth, desperately defending what we know to be right. However, if we are open to the experiences of others, often it results in us gaining an understanding of “the whole elephant”.
In product design, it is vital to understand the overall perspective and not settle for an assumption. Focusing in too narrowly on a conclusion can make you unable to envision the full capacity of a given solution.