There once was a man who had spent his entire life within the confines of a vast outdoor maze. Escape from the maze had become his life's occupation but lately he was becoming discouraged. Unfortunately, despite the man's experience, he did not have any perspective on where he was in the maze, or even how large the maze was. It was just too vast and the walls were extremely high. Occasionally he would encounter other people walking around as aimlessly as he. If he was feeling optimistic he might ask for directions but they could only shrug helplessly.

One day he came upon a fellow who was leaning a long object against the wall of the maze and testing it for stability. He greeted the man and was told that his name was Smith. Smith informed him that the object he was testing was something called a ladder and that he intended to climb the ladder to the top of the wall and, from that viewpoint, he would be able to get a grasp on his location, the size of the maze, and where any possible exits might be.

The man looked confused for a second before asking, "Yes, but what good would viewing the maze from a different viewpoint do? What does 'a different viewpoint' have to do with anything? Besides, I have to warn you that your little experiment is doomed from the outset. There's no way you could make it through that ceiling."

"And what ceiling is that?", Smith replied.

The man was flustered. "Good God, man! Surely you are not so blind that you cannot see this inpenetrable blue ceiling that hangs over our very heads!"

-- Paul Baker