Black or White?

Black or White?

　Sam got into a major argument¹ with a boy in his class. Sam was convinced² that he was right and the boy was wrong—and the boy was just as convinced that Sam was wrong and he was right. The teacher decided to teach them a very important lesson.

　She brought them up to the front of the class and placed the boy on one side of her desk and Sam on the other. In the middle of her desk was a large, round object.

　The teacher asked the boy what color the object was. “White,” he answered.

　Sam couldn’t believe he said the object was white, when it was obviously black!

　The teacher then told Sam to go stand where the boy was standing and told the boy to come stand where Sam had been. They changed places, and now she asked Sam what the color of the object was. Sam answered, “White.”

　It was an object with two differently colored sides, and from the boy’s viewpoint it was white. And from the other side it was black.

　Sometimes we need to look at the problem from the other person’s view in order to truly understand his or her perspective³.

Notes:

1. argument n. 争论 2. convinced adj. 确信的 3. perspective n. 视角