See Through Words, Michael Erard

In the essay titled, See Through Words, Erard touches upon many points that sparked a reaction in my mind. One point that generated curiosity was when Erard stated, “these metaphors are meant to help people to understand the unfamiliar” towards the beginning of his writing. These words made me realize how powerful metaphors can truly be. A human can have absolutely no knowledge of a subject, but when related to a different subject or physical object can gain an entry-level understanding simply due to their knowledge of only half of the overall metaphor. In a metaphor such as “love is a thrill ride” people can use their knowledge of their own experiences on a roller coaster to relate that to a better explanation of a more foreign concept, love. The familiarity of the feeling in your stomach can explain the unfamiliarity of what it may feel like to be in love.

Another point Erard makes is when he states that “the right metaphor must speak to inclusion and community”. If a metaphor is unable to capture the attention of a variety of people, then its job has not been fulfilled. The point of a metaphor is to build a more universal understanding of a subject, object, or idea. In a metaphor that is restricted to only one type of people, the metaphor creator is setting him or herself up for an extreme amount of conflict by creating a very close-minded metaphor. The understanding of what the metaphor relates to will easily offend many and create a false idea of what was initially intended. A great metaphor will be able to speak to a large audience and create a better understanding of how the two completely separate ideas can join to form a better understanding of one another.