elephant-in-the-room
Original: elephant-in-the-room on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1: A group of blind men were touching an elephant. (Silhouettes of several men gathered around an elephant.)
Panel 2: Each felt a different part of its body. (A blank/abstract elephant outline.)
Panel 3: One thought the elephant was hard and thin, because he felt its tusk. (A blind man touching the elephant's tusk.)
Panel 4: One thought it was rough and flat, because he felt its skin. (A blind man touching the elephant's side.)
Panel 5: One thought it was wispy, because he felt its tail. (A blind man touching the elephant's tail.)
Panel 6: Though they were touching the same creature, they all had different impressions. (The men around the elephant.)
Panel 7: They kept touching the elephant in the same place over and over, shouting at each other. (The men crowded around, arguing.)
Panel 8: Patient (lying on a couch): And why are you telling me all this? (A man reclining on a therapist's couch.)
Panel 9: Caption: Nobody ever asks how the elephant felt about it. (The reclining figure.)
Votey: A bald, elderly therapist figure has a speech bubble reading "I see..." while a thought bubble above him contains the single word "ENVY".
Panel 2: Each felt a different part of its body. (A blank/abstract elephant outline.)
Panel 3: One thought the elephant was hard and thin, because he felt its tusk. (A blind man touching the elephant's tusk.)
Panel 4: One thought it was rough and flat, because he felt its skin. (A blind man touching the elephant's side.)
Panel 5: One thought it was wispy, because he felt its tail. (A blind man touching the elephant's tail.)
Panel 6: Though they were touching the same creature, they all had different impressions. (The men around the elephant.)
Panel 7: They kept touching the elephant in the same place over and over, shouting at each other. (The men crowded around, arguing.)
Panel 8: Patient (lying on a couch): And why are you telling me all this? (A man reclining on a therapist's couch.)
Panel 9: Caption: Nobody ever asks how the elephant felt about it. (The reclining figure.)
Votey: A bald, elderly therapist figure has a speech bubble reading "I see..." while a thought bubble above him contains the single word "ENVY".
Alt text
A black-and-white SMBC comic retelling the parable of the blind men and the elephant. Across several panels: a group of blind men touch an elephant, each feeling a different part of its body. One feels the tusk and thinks it is hard and thin; one feels the skin and thinks it is rough and flat; one feels the tail and thinks it is wispy. Though touching the same creature, they all form different impressions and end up shouting at each other while touching it over and over. The final panels reveal the speaker is a man lying on a therapist's couch, who asks "And why are you telling me all this?" The caption concludes: "Nobody ever asks how the elephant felt about it." Votey (aftercomic): A bald, elderly therapist says "I see..." in a speech bubble, while a thought bubble above his head contains the single word "ENVY" — implying the therapist is envious rather than empathetic.
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.