I remember watching the animated Dumbo movie as a kid and being confused by the singing crows who couldn’t bring themselves to believe Dumbo could fly. They’d seen a peanut stand, heard a rubber band, and so on, but a flying elephant was beyond their comprehension. I was probably six or so and clearly I had seen an elephant fly throughout the movie. What was so hard to believe? Now, as an adult, I know numerous reasons an elephant can never fly. I, too, would be skeptical if someone told me an elephant could fly.

Yet, I can’t help but think that something more important was lost when I stopped believing an elephant can fly.