There’s a story that’s been told for centuries in Buddhist, Hindu, and Sufi traditions:

A group of blind people come across an elephant for the first time. They feel it with their hands to try to figure out what it is. One person grabs the trunk and jumps back, “It’s a giant snake!” Another feels a leg and says, “No, it’s a tree trunk.” Another feels the side and says it’s a wall. Another feels its ear and says it’s a fan. Another feels its tusk and says it’s a spear. Another feels its tail and says it’s a rope.

Notes: In some versions of the story, the people argue and even come to blows. Some come across the animal at different times and decide they all must have encountered different things. In some stories, they listen to each other, and/or a sighted person explains what they’ve encountered. In pretty much every version of the story the people are all men.