The oldest is Plato's Cave.
In Plato's Cave prisoners have been arranged in a row in a dark cave since childhood.
They're chained so that they can't move their bodies, and their heads are restrained too so they can only face forward, towards a wall.
They can hear and speak but they can't see each other, nor can they see themselves. Behind them is a fire.
The fire's light shows the shadows of the prisoners on the wall.
Between the prisoners and the fire there are people and animals acting out a realistic play casting shadows on the wall as well.
The prisoners see only the shadows, but they hear all the sounds.
Naturally they think the world is composed of shadows on the wall and that they themselves are shadows on the wall.
The shadows talk to each other and interact, and it all makes sense to the prisoners, who think that all the shadows on the wall are like themselves.
The prisoners even know each other through the shadows they see and the voices they hear, and they gain status by their ability to recognize other shadows and predict what they'll do.
Now, imagine that one of the prisoners is released.
His shackles fall to the ground and he can turn his head.
He sees the other prisoners sitting in a row chained to the ground and he's horrified.
He also sees the actors and animals between the prisoners and the fire.
He sees the cave opening and ventures out.
He is blinded by the light, but finally sees the big picture: All his life he has been sitting in a cave, chained to the ground, believing that the wall was it.
Now he has realized that the action on the wall is guided mainly by a few actors, with the prisoners providing commentary.
Now he sees the opportunities in the real world.
He feels duty-bound to go back and inform the prisoners of the situation and try to release them.
First he tries to explain the existence of the puppet-masters to the prisoners, but the masters are unlikely to corroborate his story since they derive much personal benefit from the current way of the world.
Then he tries to explain how the system is arranged with the prisoners and the cave.
Tragically, he finds the prisoners more resistant than he expected.
Most don't believe him--and why should they?
Having adjusted to the light outside, he can't see the shadows as clearly as they can.
"What a dimwit." Taking off the chains requires too much effort, so most of them remain seated.
These are people who are very good and successful at identifying, naming, and dealing with shadows, and so they may not want to leave.
There are also those who do feel the need to leave.
Leaving is not easy;
it requires much learning and a reorientation of one's values from equating success with identifying shadows to equating success with moving around in the real world.
In Plato's Cave prisoners have been arranged in a row in a dark cave since childhood.
They're chained so that they can't move their bodies, and their heads are restrained too so they can only face forward, towards a wall.
They can hear and speak but they can't see each other, nor can they see themselves. Behind them is a fire.
The fire's light shows the shadows of the prisoners on the wall.
Between the prisoners and the fire there are people and animals acting out a realistic play casting shadows on the wall as well.
The prisoners see only the shadows, but they hear all the sounds.
Naturally they think the world is composed of shadows on the wall and that they themselves are shadows on the wall.
The shadows talk to each other and interact, and it all makes sense to the prisoners, who think that all the shadows on the wall are like themselves.
The prisoners even know each other through the shadows they see and the voices they hear, and they gain status by their ability to recognize other shadows and predict what they'll do.
Now, imagine that one of the prisoners is released.
His shackles fall to the ground and he can turn his head.
He sees the other prisoners sitting in a row chained to the ground and he's horrified.
He also sees the actors and animals between the prisoners and the fire.
He sees the cave opening and ventures out.
He is blinded by the light, but finally sees the big picture: All his life he has been sitting in a cave, chained to the ground, believing that the wall was it.
Now he has realized that the action on the wall is guided mainly by a few actors, with the prisoners providing commentary.
Now he sees the opportunities in the real world.
He feels duty-bound to go back and inform the prisoners of the situation and try to release them.
First he tries to explain the existence of the puppet-masters to the prisoners, but the masters are unlikely to corroborate his story since they derive much personal benefit from the current way of the world.
Then he tries to explain how the system is arranged with the prisoners and the cave.
Tragically, he finds the prisoners more resistant than he expected.
Most don't believe him--and why should they?
Having adjusted to the light outside, he can't see the shadows as clearly as they can.
"What a dimwit." Taking off the chains requires too much effort, so most of them remain seated.
These are people who are very good and successful at identifying, naming, and dealing with shadows, and so they may not want to leave.
There are also those who do feel the need to leave.
Leaving is not easy;
it requires much learning and a reorientation of one's values from equating success with identifying shadows to equating success with moving around in the real world.