On the birdbox metaphor - 8

By Enok Kippersund

A few days ago I listened to a radio report on how to relate to the threats of the SARS epidemic. Chief physician Bjørn Iversen at the Norwegian National Health Institute explained that precautions which we think will be useful, will not be useful only because we believe they are. To put on breath masks and organize isolation "to be prepared" will most probably cause more fear and establish less protection. And suddenly I heard him make and use what I experience is a metaphor:

Imagine that we think that if the green traffic light is given a break of one minute (60 seconds) between the moment it switches off for the road having been open, to the moment it switches on the green light again, for the crossing road to be opened, - then we might think the traffic will become safer. And dr. Iversen says: "Even if some of us would think that this would be a useful precaution, it is not becoming useful by our thinking that it will be useful, even if we are thinking that very strongly and by a great conviction. To "think" must give way to to "know", and we have the knowledge that there is no purpose in running the signals by an intermittent program designed that cunning way."

The radio program is called "Sånn er livet" i.e. "That's how life is"

Indispensable instruments

It is said that metaphors are indispensable instruments to ideas and thinking. Relevant metaphors can help us make our consideration and pondering clearer, make us able to explain our problems and innovations. Without the metaphors we would be far less able to think and to talk and to build languages. To become a successful scientist you need to be clever on creating metaphors and to read metaphors. Quite bad for persons who cannot help they might be metaphor-blind.

And then, of course, it is rather important that the metaphors are good unveiling and communicating metaphors, - not foggy, unsharp and leading astray. You may need a metaphor to explain what happened during the Gulf War, or to understand what the unwinding of Norwegian farming is about. Could be lots of false metaphors then also will turn up?

Metaphors have been a core element in philosophy all the time since Aristoteles, and today lots of prominent professors are teaching on and within the field of the metaphor topic all around the world.

Metaphors within psychology?

So, what has been well known metaphors within the psychology, what metaphors should be revitalised - and what challenges within this science and profession are in need of new and fresh and strong metaphors?

7th May 2003

Enok Kippersund