Posted by
glen e. p. ropella-2 on
May 07, 2010; 10:33pm
URL: http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/The-coat-hook-of-the-mind-tp5012713p5021671.html
Jochen Fromm wrote circa 10-05-06 01:41 PM:
> Equations and metaphors are similar, they
> relate two different terms, things, and sides.
> Metaphors let us express one thing in terms of another.
> In this sense, metaphors are the "calculus of the mind".
Can we really say this? My experience with metaphors is that they are
always inexact, imprecise, inaccurate, etc. They're fuzzy constructs.
Granted, they do help one think. But they're more like fuzzy
"waypoints" that provide a general direction of thought rather than,
say, a precise coordinate system and a vector in that system. Analogies
in general, on the other hand, can be very precise (or very imprecise).
I suppose if you replaced = with ≈ (approximately equal to, or similar
to), then we might come closer to what we normally think of as equations.
Byers talks a bit about how "equals" is a type of lens through which a
thing can be viewed in a totally different way (e.g. e = mc^2). But
even there, for us to use "=", we have to be really serious about the
mapping being exact, not fuzzy or vague like metaphors.
--
glen e. p. ropella, 971-222-9095,
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