The Cow’s Tail

President Abraham Lincoln was once embroiled in a

dispute with a colleague. Unable to get his opponent

to see the error in his thinking Lincoln said, “Tell me,

how many legs does a cow have?”

“What?” responded the man, “why four of course.”

“Now suppose,” continued the president, “that you

call the cow’s tail a leg. Then how many legs does a

cow have?”

“Five,” replied the man.

“That’s where you are wrong,” replied Lincoln.

“Calling a cow’s tail a leg does not make it a leg.”

Author Unknown