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- Metaphors in science can help to illustrate abstract concepts by drawing parallels to tangible objects or processes that people are already familiar with. By doing so, metaphors can create a mental image that provides a frame of reference for the scientific concept being explained.
mindthegraph.com/blog/metaphors-in-science/
Metaphor plays several well-documented roles in science: (1) rhetorical (this involves the pedagogical use of metaphor in science education or in communication between scientists and non-scientists); (2) heuristic (facilitating discovery, creation of novel hypotheses and paradigms), where the idea is that the metaphors are initially useful in ...
- Bryan Kelly
- Evolution by Natural Selection. Scientist: Charles Darwin. Metaphorical Function: “Darwinian” evolution describes any organism or enterprise subject to a competitive selection process.
- The Conditioned Response. Scientist: Ivan Pavlov. Metaphorical Function: The theory that dogs can be conditioned to react to stimuli (i.e. drooling at the ringing of a bell), provides an apt metaphor for all things consumption oriented.
- Heliocentrism. Scientist: Copernicus. Metaphorical Function: Copernicus’ discovery that the earth revolves around the sun instead of vice versa is a central concept in the basic structure of our galaxy.
- Gravity. Scientist: Isaac Newton. Metaphorical Function: Newton’s theory of gravity, boiled down to a statement as simple as “what goes up must come down,” provides a metaphor for any situation that self-corrects, and anticipates the arc of Aristotelian “riches to rags” stories.
Oct 18, 2024 · Here at Science Friday, we’re big fans of metaphors. They can make complicated scientific concepts easier to understand, for both non-experts and scientists themselves. For example, “the big bang” helps us visualize the beginning of the universe. Or we can understand DNA’s role better as a “building block of life.”.
Therefore metaphors are essential in learning and teaching science. In this article, we will present a few examples of metaphorical thinking in science and how it guides science in new directions that could lead to breakthroughs.
Feb 5, 2017 · Giving many insightful examples - especially from the history of the atom - Brown shows how, long before a concept is well understood, metaphors can help scientists to come up and perform experiments, therefore guiding scientific progress itself.
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Mar 3, 2022 · Metaphors provide structure to data and aid understanding of a familiar process in a new light. Thus, finding the right metaphor can help researchers describe complex findings in ways that others find meaningful.
