Science Fiction – The Shadows cast by Modernity
This piece was written at the behest of a friend who works for Down to Earth magazine. It appeared there a few months ago in slightly edited form. *There was a…
The Great Red Spot (or, When Can a Thing be Said to Exist?)
Consider the Great Red Spot of Jupiter. It is a storm that has been around for two centuries. It's a vortex big enough to contain two or three planets the…
Vision: the Master Metaphor
Human beings frequently conceptualize experience and understanding in terms of visual metaphors. These metaphors pervade our discourse: we 'illuminate', 'shed light on', and 'dispel shadows'. When you think you understand,…
Truth, Validity and Usefulness
There are three closely related -- but in my opinion distinct -- concepts that ought to be closely scrutinized before discussing metaphor proper. (The post is long but I hope…
Axis? Praxis?
What is the nature of metaphor? What constitutes an effective analogy? What is distinctive about the analogies used in science and mathematics? Can scientific metaphor enrich the wider world of…