By: Hans Christian Anderson Date: 1837 Source
Summarize it
A vain ruler who is fond of new clothes is swindled by outsiders into believing they can make fabric which is only visible to men worthy of their rank and position. The fabric, of course, is imaginary.
As the ruler observes and wears the new clothes he, upon failing to see anything, worries he will be perceived as unfit to rule. So he lies and proudly wears absolutely nothing about the court. All of the court has the same interaction, and as a result they all marvel at the “fabric” and lie because they are scared to speak out.
The only one to contest this idiocy is a peasant child, who has neither rank nor shame in admitting to not see the clothes.
What do you think
There are a couple themes going on here. The first is how easy it is to let shame cloud your judgement. We feel losses far more than proportional gains, so being called a fool is a far worse risk than speaking out with wisdom.
The second is maybe on the encumberment of rank and experience. Those who are older and wiser have more experience to draw on, but it also makes it more difficult to revise and reevaluate. Only the young, or those who try to stay young, can do this fluidly.
How similar is this to “missing the forest for the trees?”