Metaphors

Why does it matter what metaphor we use? Each metaphor suggests certain mental processes, ways to get ideas, to encourage more of them to be born / discovered / built. The metaphors affect how we think of ideation, collaboration, differentiation, and ownership.  All the metaphors are valid, but being conscious of what metaphor we’re using helps to clarify our processes.

There are at least three common types of metaphors that are used in talking about ideas.

Generative metaphors are usually based in biology. Ideas are generated, born, grow, evolve. We nurture them. We talk about the seeds of ideas, their DNA, their parentage. There are good (or bad) environments for ideas; ideas may have an ecology.

Spatial metaphors are also common. We discover ideas, we reach for and find them. One idea is close to another, or far away, or tangent to another idea. An idea is a stretch, ideas are out of the box, outside our experience. We map them. They are broad or narrow. A patent is made up of “claims”, which derives from land patents and the ownership of physical space.

Somewhat less common is a constructive metaphor. We assemble or put together ideas; we build them. An idea can be solid or weak, can fall apart or be a foundation for other ideas.