In late 2021, when I was starting graphic design at SIMADiLab (then IITE), every message they sent during the application process, included “Salaam,” , a simplified version of Assalamu Aleykum. At first, I didn’t even notice it, but as they kept starting every message with it, I unconsciously began using it too, without even realizing.
Whenever I remember this, I realize how much our opinions, decisions and what we do are shaped by our personal experiences and interactions with others. For instance, when asked to compare companies like restaurants or banks, the opinion we give is influenced by our previous encounters, whether it’s a story a friend told us or an experience we personally had with them.
This concept is beautifully illustrated by this ancient Indian parable of the blind men and the elephant:
“In a small town, a group of blind men once heard that a strange animal, called an elephant, had been brought to town. None of them had ever encountered an elephant before, so, out of curiosity, they decided to inspect and understand it by touch, as that was their only means of perceiving the world.
When they found the elephant, each man touched a different part of its body. The first man, who touched the trunk, said, ‘This being is like a thick snake.’ The second man, who felt the ear, thought the elephant resembled a fan. The third man, touching its leg, concluded the elephant was like a pillar or tree trunk. The fourth man, who placed his hand on its side, declared the elephant to be a wall. The fifth man, feeling the tail, described it as a rope. Finally, the last man, who touched the tusk, stated the elephant was hard, smooth, and like a spear.”
Each man was correct based on his limited interaction with the elephant, even though none of them had a complete understanding of the animal. And each of their opinions was based on the experience they had, the parts of the animal they laid their hands on.
And as we can have different kinds of experiences with one thing, we may hold different opinions about one thing, too, and they all have the same probability of being right, wrong, or neither.
In everyday life, when we encounter someone with a different opinion, we can fall into the trap of believing only one of us can be right. But what if, like the blind men, we’re each only experiencing a part of the truth?
Nobody is right about everything, and everybody is right about something.
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