1 00:00:08,600 --> 00:00:13,900 I received several questions about the use of metaphors throughout this course. 2 00:00:13,900 --> 00:00:19,466 A metaphor is a figure of speech, when we describe something by calling it something else. 3 00:00:19,466 --> 00:00:23,032 So it’s an implicit comparison. 4 00:00:23,033 --> 00:00:28,233 If I call an enterprise a ‘sinking ship’ everyone will know it’s doomed to fail. 5 00:00:28,233 --> 00:00:35,533 If parents call their kid’s room a pig sty, they think it is a huge mess LIKE a pig sty. 6 00:00:35,533 --> 00:00:39,733 If they would actually say “your room is so dirty, it looks LIKE a pig sty’, 7 00:00:39,733 --> 00:00:42,266 that would officially be a simile, 8 00:00:42,266 --> 00:00:48,299 an explicit comparison, not a metaphor, which is as I said, implicit. 9 00:00:48,300 --> 00:00:51,133 Quite some metaphors have passed in these last weeks: 10 00:00:51,133 --> 00:00:57,233 fourth estate, hypodermic needle, the media agenda, to name just a few. 11 00:00:57,233 --> 00:01:01,933 'Why do scientists do this?' asked one student, 'It seems a bit strange to me... 12 00:01:01,933 --> 00:01:05,999 ...that people who are trained in only talking about facts and things they can prove, 13 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:09,666 use all of these colorful expressions'. 14 00:01:09,666 --> 00:01:14,766 And indeed we do, they are in fact quite important in scientific and 15 00:01:14,766 --> 00:01:18,266 non-scientific discussions about our field. 16 00:01:18,266 --> 00:01:26,966 That is why this is the first question I want to cover: metaphors, why do scholars use them? 17 00:01:26,966 --> 00:01:30,032 Well, the answer to this is quite simple really: 18 00:01:30,033 --> 00:01:34,066 because they are such a powerful communication device. 19 00:01:34,066 --> 00:01:38,732 Metaphors contain a wealth of information, that most people immediately grasp, 20 00:01:38,733 --> 00:01:42,799 all buried beneath a simple concept. 21 00:01:42,800 --> 00:01:46,300 A good metaphor has a high level of shared connotation, 22 00:01:46,300 --> 00:01:52,066 in other words, most people will have the same associations. 23 00:01:52,066 --> 00:01:56,199 Most will understand that the hypodermic needle theory has this name 24 00:01:56,200 --> 00:01:59,033 because it refers to directly injected messages 25 00:01:59,033 --> 00:02:04,699 that have an immediate effect. That the audience has no defense for it. 26 00:02:04,700 --> 00:02:08,032 All of this associated meaning automatically pops up 27 00:02:08,032 --> 00:02:11,066 when you think about a hypodermic needle. 28 00:02:11,066 --> 00:02:15,532 Therefore metaphors are well-suited to discuss complicated issues. 29 00:02:15,533 --> 00:02:19,833 And … using metaphors saves a lot of time. 30 00:02:19,833 --> 00:02:23,766 Probably most people will understand what you mean with a metaphor intuitively 31 00:02:23,766 --> 00:02:25,899 and without further explanation. 32 00:02:25,900 --> 00:02:31,533 So, if you are arguing a greater point and don’t want to pause to explain each step on the way, 33 00:02:31,533 --> 00:02:34,633 metaphors are a useful tool. 34 00:02:34,633 --> 00:02:40,999 If I compare the audience of a message to a group a spoon-fed babies, 35 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:46,533 then everyone will understand that I don’t mean that audience members are new to this world, 36 00:02:46,533 --> 00:02:50,333 or that they are regarding this world with curious ever-learning eyes. 37 00:02:50,333 --> 00:02:57,099 No, I am saying that the audience is not active, and not blocking information, 38 00:02:57,100 --> 00:03:03,366 and not selecting channels or content, and all experiencing communication, 39 00:03:03,366 --> 00:03:07,266 their food which is fed to them, in the same way. 40 00:03:07,266 --> 00:03:12,899 If you think about it, a lot was communicated implicitly when I used this metaphor. 41 00:03:12,900 --> 00:03:15,433 And it took a lot more time to explain it. 42 00:03:15,433 --> 00:03:20,233 That’s exactly the reason why we use metaphors in science. 43 00:03:20,233 --> 00:03:25,066 This is all a bit abstract of course. So in the next unit I want to discuss some actual 44 00:03:25,066 --> 00:03:27,432 metaphors that we use in our field. 45 00:03:27,433 --> 00:03:32,199 And you will see how much information one metaphor actually contains.