Porpoise

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.

The master was enlightened.