The genius of metaphor: Bridging the unknown

This is true for all of us.

We valiantly search for the explanation, the description, the words. But when those words aren’t there, we unconsciously drop into another part of our brain–the part of our brain that works in metaphor.

Metaphor allows us to understand and speak about things that are unknown, vague, or abstract. It opens up entirely new spaces of possibility, depth, and clarity.

Art professor and Guggenheim fellowship recipient Richard Shiff said this:

acts of genius or dramatic breakthroughs in fields of study can affect our present world order only if they are joined to it by means of a powerful metaphor. Indeed establishing the metaphoric bridge itself may be considered the act of genius, and the entry into new areas of knowledge is its consequence.

Metaphor provides clarity and perspective we wouldn’t get any other way.