metaphor | Tag | Conversational Leadership

Wikipedia Entry: metaphor

A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are usually meant to create a likeness or an analogy.

Metaphors are often compared with other types of figurative language, such as antithesis, hyperbole, metonymy, and simile. One of the most commonly cited examples of a metaphor in English literature comes from the "All the world's a stage" monologue from As You Like It:

This quotation expresses a metaphor because the world is not literally a stage, and most humans are not literally actors and actresses playing roles. By asserting that the world is a stage, Shakespeare uses points of comparison between the world and a stage to convey an understanding about the mechanics of the world and the behavior of the people within it.

In the ancient Hebrew psalms (around 1000 B.C.), one finds already vivid and poetic examples of metaphor such as, "The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold" and "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want". Some recent linguistic theories view all language in essence as metaphorical.

The word metaphor itself is a metaphor, coming from a Greek term meaning 'transference (of ownership)'. The user of a metaphor alters the reference of the word, "carrying" it from one semantic "realm" to another. The new meaning of the word might be derived from an analogy between the two semantic realms, but also from other reasons such as the distortion of the semantic realm - for example in sarcasm.

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A tag is a type of metadata keyword or label that makes finding information in this blook on a specific subject easier. All posts in this blook tagged with the word metaphor are listed below. You will find a list of all tags in the tag cloud and a shorter list of tags with their descriptions in the glossary

Using the Concept of Signal-to-noise Ratio as a Metaphor The ratio of useful or true information to false or irrelevant information

Gurteen Knowledge Blog December 31, 2020, 14:31Daniel Smachtenberger, when discussing the pollution of the information ecosystem with misinformation and disinformation in his talks on the War on Sensemaking, says things like: I’m trying to make sense of things because I have to be able to parse signal from noise. We would hope, though, that there are … Continue reading Using the Concept of Signal-to-noise Ratio as a Metaphor The ratio of useful or true information to false or irrelevant information

Understanding Our Political Nature EU Science Hub (2019)

Understanding our Political Nature: How to put knowledge and reason at the heart of political decision-making Abstract Recognising that advances in behavioural, decision and social sciences demonstrate that we are not purely rational beings, this report brings new insights into our political behaviour and this understanding have the potential to address some of the current … Continue reading Understanding Our Political Nature EU Science Hub (2019)

Imagine a Culture Where an Argument Is Viewed as a Dance George Lakoff and Mark Johnsen

Imagine a culture where an argument is viewed as a dance, the participants are seen as performers, and the goal is to perform in a balanced and aesthetically pleasing way. In such a culture, people would view arguments differently, experience them differently, carry them out differently, and talk about them differently. But we would probably … Continue reading Imagine a Culture Where an Argument Is Viewed as a Dance George Lakoff and Mark Johnsen

Signal-to-noise Ratio The ratio of useful or true information to false or irrelevant data

The term “signal-to-noise ratio” is a useful metaphor when discussing the pollution of the information ecosystem with misinformation, disinformation, or situations where much of the information available is irrelevant. A signal-to-noise ratio is a measure most frequently used in science and engineering, comparing the level of a signal to the background noise level. But it … Continue reading Signal-to-noise Ratio The ratio of useful or true information to false or irrelevant data

The Knowledge Café Metaphor A metaphor for the type of conversation you have in a Café

“Knowledge Café” is not just a name for a conversational method that brings people together in conversation but a metaphor for the process. The term “café,” frequently written as “cafe” without the e-acute accent, comes from the French and means “coffee.” And of course, a café is a small restaurant which mostly serves coffee, tea, … Continue reading The Knowledge Café Metaphor A metaphor for the type of conversation you have in a Café