How changing the metaphors we use can change the way we think | Aeon Essays

Creative thought is often helped by mobilising metaphor and analogy—seeing one thing and thinking of another (a variant of the grafting process described above). Much of social change comes from shifts in metaphors. Do we see society as a war, a body or an organism; a building, a machine or a family?

We need to be vigilant in our use of metaphors, not because there is something dodgy about metaphor in general, but because there is something dodgy about many of the ones currently espoused by mainstream science. There I am in wholehearted agreement. We don’t see what our metaphors blind us towards.

But there’s a cognitive cost attached to metaphors too: it’s easy to forget that the metaphor isn’t actually the thing itself. If we use them intentionally, they can help us be more creative and solve problems, not to mention communicate our ideas more effectively to others. But if we’re not aware of them, they can trip us up.

When we talk about artificial intelligence, we rely on metaphor, as we always do when dealing with something new and unfamiliar. Metaphors are, by their nature, imperfect, but we still need to choose them carefully, because bad ones can lead us astray. For example, it’s become very common to compare powerful A.I.s to genies in fairy tales. The meta

But even when used unconsciously, metaphors have the power to shape the way we think about, communicate, and interpret the world.