The scribe Qi was asked to provide the diagrams for a large
system design document, for the purpose of increasing its
readability. The finished work was delivered to Java master
Banzen for review.
Banzen found some of the diagrams straightforward, but many
were extremely puzzling. The Dataflow section was
illustrated with the digestive tract of a fish, rendered in
intricate detail with all the major organs labeled.
Scheduled Jobs showed the phases of the moon juxtaposed with
various herbs. The Functional Overview concluded with a
glorious depiction of the reproductive cycle of the white
dolphin.
At first Banzen assumed an error, yet closer inspection
revealed footnotes in the figures which referred back to
particular sections of the design document. In all cases the
connection between figure and text was utterly mystifying.
“I read the document through twice, very carefully,” said
the master to the scribe. “And nowhere in it could I find
the significance of the bisected fish, the lunar harvest
calendar, or most of your other contributions.”
“Twice,” repeated Qi with satisfaction, and left the room.
