ATENEO DE DAVAO UNIVERSITY

Interdisciplinary Studies
Summer, AY 2020-2021
Reflection Paper

Name (Surname, First Name) : MAMENTA, Joshua Mari P.

Course and Year : BSA – 1st yr.
IDS Code and Schedule : 16-050 5:15 – 7:05 PM
Professor : OCDENARIA, JOSE MARIE
Reflection (One page only)
(Technicalities: 500-600 words; Single space, Book Antiqua-13)
To start this reflection, my reaction to this was unfortunate and somewhat angry
because the elephant didn't like what the humans build for him. The meeting
consisted of an architect, an interior designer, an engineer, a sociologist, and a
psychologist. I am shocked that they didn't invite him to the meeting because the
house was for the elephant, and they need the elephant's opinions and ideas. The
elephant is also highly educated, but he was not invited to the forum. The house is
made for the elephant, and the elephant knows more of it than they do. The elephant
knows what he wants for the home, how it would be built, and what should be added
to the elephant's house. They purely build the elephant's house base on their
perspective and ideas without the permission of the elephant and his thoughts, plans,
and concepts.

Since the committee consists of humans, they thought the house they were building
applies to the elephant. However, they did brainstorm during the meeting, and the
interior designer asks "What do elephants do when they're at home?" then the
engineer replied, "They lean against things," and added, "We'll need strong walls." But
still, this was their assumption, and they didn't ask for the elephant's opinions and
thoughts about it because he was not invited to the meeting. And when the elephant
moved in, he never leans against the wall because he lived in the circus for years and
knew that walls fall when you lean on them. It was a significant failure on the
committee's part because they didn't ask for the elephant's ideas and notions. In
addition, even though elephants are herbivores and fed outside all of the time, the
psychologist concluded that they need ample dining space only because they eat a lot.
They thought he liked the color green because he lived in the jungle. Without them
asking the elephant, they assume that the elephant loved and favored the color green
for his house. It was just another lapse. "From a sociological matter," the sociologist
said, "I can tell you that they mate standing up. You'll need high ceilings." On the
other hand, the sociologist was also incorrect in his assumption that they mated while
standing. They also overlooked the fact that they were relatively urban elephants. As a
result, the high ceilings only produced vibrations and echoes, which irritated the
elephants greatly. The elephant left after six months due to these mistakes made by
the humans with their assumptions.

For me, the insight that I've gained in this story is that we should always listen to the
ideas and opinions of others. We shouldn't always assume it based on our perspective
because these may cause mistakes and errors that lead to failure.