I've been thinking about words.Ideal you might imagine,given my role on the magazine.But specifically,I have been caught up on metaphors and,of course,their distinctly anaemic cousin;the analogy.Junk DNA,dark matter,selfish genes-perhaps some of the more famous uses of the metaphor in scientific discourse.However,when the natural world throws up something that actually lives up to its own analogy...COVID-19 really is spreading like a virus...these little play-on-words can seem woefully frivolous.However,1 am firmly of the opinion that,in general,they can be very useful in science communication.As a consequence,1 may very well be guilty of over-use.You might even say that when faced with a complex idea I am rather too quick to enter the safe harbour of the metaphor(...ahem).
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