A Ladder Parable

(A versed summation of an old philosophy topic I started)

Once upon a time,
a man wished to reach an unreachable height
without having to climb a tree.
He had an inspiration.
He cut down the tree,
sliced it up,
and put short pieces of wood
between two long load-bearing poles.
It was an immediate success,
so much so that it became
a metaphor
for the natural human desire
to learn and succeed.

Those short pieces of wood
became known as 'rungs',
and took on a mythology of their own,
i.e. climbing the rungs of power,
take things one rung at a time,
the postman rung twice,
why didn't you answer the door?

It seemed the ladder rung clear
to everyone who saw it,
from handyman to fireman.

Then a small boy approached it and pondered.

It happened that it was a ladder on a fire truck.
The fireman said "Hey there little fella,
do you want a ride in the truck?"

"No, I'm just wondering about the ladder."

"Ask me anything you want little boy."

"Well..."

"Come on, don't be shy."

The boy thought, and said "It seems....inefficient."

"What do you mean? This is the best way to climb."

The boy thought a bit more and said

"Yes, I suppose so,
but you have to bring it wherever you go.
If it were conceived in four dimensions,
you could climb it anytime you needed it, anywhere."