Future Think: How to Think Clearly in a Time of Change

Part IV. Imagining the Way: Using Metaphors to Free Your Mind

People translate information into images. To a computer, the numbers in its memory are reality; to a human, the words in his or her memory are only symbols that create images. The word “chair” is not the reality of a chair; it is a symbol for a chair, and the word enables us to picture the actual object.

That's why some of the most effective learning devices are metaphors or similes. When we say that a woman's hair is like silk, we create a mental image both striking and concrete. We can both see and remember strongly. The best teachers and the best writers enable us to see vivid images and therefore to learn. The enduring popularity of Shakespeare owes much to his extraordinary genius ...