James Geary, metaphorically speaking

http://www.ted.com Aphorism enthusiast and author James Geary waxes on a fascinating fixture of human language: the metaphor. Friend of scribes from Aristotle to Elvis, metaphor can subtly influence the decisions we make, Geary says.

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, Pattie Maes on the "Sixth Sense" wearable tech, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/translate. Watch a highlight reel of the Top 10 TEDTalks at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/top10

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• metaphor
• language
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• aphorism
• synesthesia
• Elvis
• Shakespeare
• Aristotle

[Flyborg]

I love metaphors. Metaphors are small Italian ducks which love ice cream.

..wait. I'm bad at this.

[ChillPenguin2]

Cool. He used an extended metaphor to describe metaphor.

[PeopleBreeze]

“We should not fart higher than our noses can smell”. A translation of a Haitian proverb - Can we actually fart higher than our noses can smell? No not really, if that happens then perhaps we have a cold or something. Therefore in that statement the metaphor is meant to be expressed figuratively speaking, not necessarily logical. But at the same time the message that is being broadcast makes perfect sense with the figure of speech. peoplebreeze com

[PeopleBreeze]

“We see life through our telescope of endeavor, looking to secure what we’ve prospered, while forever aiming to better what we’ve inherited”. Again with a question – what is a telescope? What is it used for? What do we aimed for in life? Do we make preparation for our future endeavors? Well then if we do than it is the same as saying “we see life through our telescope of endeavor” because then the telescope represents an instrument use for looking into the future. peoplebreeze com

[PeopleBreeze]

Maya Angelou “Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host”. To check for validity of the statement we perform a logical analysis of the phrase even though it is a metaphorical phrase. What does cancer do to the human body? And how does someone who is bitter react? Can bitterness be use in conjunction with cancer, if it is we say that the metaphor is consistent with logic. peoplebreeeze com

[PeopleBreeze]

We have described “truth” as Facts which are actual events that have gone to past. This is why we have stated that “truth always permits reason to take the path of least resistance”. This statement is valid because whenever a statement is true it can easily be proven by reason without any resistance. But if the statement is a lie and we try to argue that it’s the truth we are more likely to encounter resistance within our line of reason which can be regarded as “bumpy road.” peoplebreze com

[PeopleBreeze]

To validate this statement we’ll demonstrate a series of thought process that is “The truth always permits reason to take the path of least resistance it is the lie that is the bumpy road”. We always begin with a question – what is truth – if we don’t know what truth is don’t guess it look it up in the dictionary – that’s why it’s there for. peoplebreeze com

[PeopleBreeze]

To validate this statement we’ll demonstrate a series of thought process that is based on metaphorical thinking which we’ve come to recognize as Hieroglyphics Literature, but prior to that we’ll outline the difference between English Literature with metaphor and Hieroglyphics Literature. We’ll begin by outlining some examples English Literature & Metaphor, and for illustration we’ll analyze the statement for validity.

[PeopleBreeze]

As explained by James Geary “metaphorical thinking is essential to how we understand ourselves, communicate, discover, learn and invent.” The most important thing he said is that “metaphor is a way of thought before it is a way with words.”

[SchinTeth]

You used one to describe him

[robotpanda77]

Yes, I am low on metaphors again because I can just never seem to use as many as this guy claims I do.

[johnvattic1234]

You have to stop at the supermarket?