Full Idea
An elephant may be fully represented by nine primitive shapes ('geons'), but it may require as few as three geons in appropriate relations to be correctly identified.
Clarification
A 'geon' (Biederman 1987) is a geometrical ion, or basic shape
Gist of Idea
Elephants can be correctly identified from as few as three primitive shapes
Source
Alvin I. Goldman (Phil Applications of Cognitive Science [1993], p.7)
Book Reference
Goldman,Alvin I.: 'Philosophical Applications of Cognitive Science' [Westview 1993], p.7
A Reaction
Encouraging the idea of the mind as a maker of maps and models