When Pi retells the entire story to two representatives of the Japanese Ministry of Transport searching for the cause of the sinking, they express deep disbelief, so he offers them a second story, far more mundane but believable story that parallels the first one. They can choose to believe the more fantastical first one despite its seeming irrationality and its necessary leap of faith, or they can accept the second, far more rational version, more heavily grounded in our everyday experiences.
When Pi retells the entire story to two representatives of the Japanese Ministry of Transport searching for the cause of the sinking, they express deep disbelief, so he offers them a second story, far more mundane but believable story that parallels the first one. They can choose to believe the more fantastical first one despite its seeming irrationality and its necessary leap of faith, or they can accept the second, far more rational version, more heavily grounded in our everyday experiences.