The name comes from the story of the blind men and the elephant, in which a number of blind men feel different parts of an elephant and come away with different descriptions of the elephant. (slaw.ca)
«This is like the story of the elephant,» says Feng, referring to the Indian parable in which a group of blind men all touch a different part of an elephant and then compare notes to try to work out what the beast looks like. (newscientist.com)