No.12 Referenced from ~ Part1 - Chapter 2 - Parable

Parable of the "Meter Prototype"

A story from a planet. There was only one "Meter Prototype," which was inconvenient, so copies were distributed to each country. In the meantime, the "Meter Prototype" was lost. People got together and decided to redefine "1 meter." Copies of the meter prototype from each country were collected and compared, but naturally, there was a very small variation in the length of each stick.

So they thought. If they compared them exactly and took the average, they should be able to get the correct "1 meter". It seemed like a good idea.

Then, however, a "Meter Stick" was brought in. People tried to add it to the line of copies of the meter prototype, but the stick made a surprising claim. It said, "I am the lost Meter Prototype."

They had to think carefully about what to do with the stick. If they adopted it, they would lose a reliable approximation; if they rejected it, they might lose the truth.