Semantic algebra

The best presentations don’t just tell people something—they tell them the same thing again and again but in different ways. They use analogies to help people understand.

Deep analogical thinking is the practice of recognizing conceptual similarities in multiple domains or scenarios that may seem to have little in common on the surface. It is a powerful tool for solving wicked problems, and Kepler was an analogy addict, so Gentner is naturally very fond of him.

Generative metaphors and proverbs both derive their power from a clever substitution: They substitute something easy to think about for something difficult.