Neuroscience Behind the Power of Metaphor 🧠
The Surprising Science Behind Why We Love Them & How They Help Us Learn Faster (7min Read)
TL;DR Summary:
Metaphors link new concepts to familiar ideas, making them easier to understand.
They engage both brain hemispheres, enhancing comprehension.
Combining metaphors with stories adds context and makes information memorable.
Cognitive linguistics shows metaphors shape our perception and thoughts.
Using metaphors and stories simplifies complex concepts and improves learning.
Metaphors & Neuroscience
Metaphors have long been a staple of language and literature, helping us to convey complex ideas and emotions in more relatable ways.
But why do we love metaphors so much? And why do they help us learn and understand things more easily?
Today, we will be exploring these exact questions.
Because there are actually cognitive and neural mechanisms behind our affinity for metaphors and how they enhance our comprehension!
Let’s dive in!
Why Metaphors Work
Metaphors help us by linking new, unfamiliar concepts to things we already know.
This process leverages our existing knowledge, making abstract ideas more concrete and relatable.
Here are some examples:
Electrical Circuit as Water Flow: Understanding electricity can be challenging, but explaining it as water flowing through pipes can make it more accessible. Voltage is like water pressure, current is the flow rate, and resistance is like the pipe's width.
The Brain as a Computer: The brain's complexity can be daunting, but comparing it to a computer helps. The brain's hardware is like the computer's physical components, while the software represents thoughts, memories, and emotions.
Photosynthesis as a Recipe: Explaining photosynthesis can be made easier by comparing it to a cooking recipe. Plants use sunlight (energy), water, and carbon dioxide as ingredients to create glucose (food) and oxygen.
As you can see, these metaphors help connect new information to familiar concepts, making abstract or complex ideas more tangible and relatable.
The Neuroscience of Metaphors
When we encounter metaphors, several parts of our brain light up, illustrating the complexity and richness of this cognitive process.
Research shows that the left hemisphere, particularly the temporal and frontal lobes, plays a significant role in processing literal language.
However, when it comes to metaphors, the right hemisphere, which is more involved in creative and holistic thinking, is also activated.
This bilateral brain engagement helps us decode and appreciate the deeper meanings behind metaphors.
While we are always using both parts of our brain, metaphors help activate deeper parts of both sides, allowing you to have those “Ahhhaaa!” moments.
If you believe that you are either “left or right-brained”, I suggest you read my blog titled “Debunking the Myth of the Left-Brain/Right-Brain Dominance 🧠”
Stories + Metaphors: A Dynamic Duo
Stories are another powerful tool that, when combined with metaphors, can significantly enhance learning and understanding.
Stories provide context and narrative structure, making information more memorable and engaging.
For instance, when teaching about the complexities of the human brain, I might use the metaphor of a "city" with different neighborhoods (brain regions) specializing in various functions.
By weaving this metaphor into a story about a day in the life of Brain City, I can help my audience visualize and grasp the brain's intricate workings more vividly.
This works for things other than neuroscience too, let’s think back to the photosynthesis metaphor from earlier, but add a story into it!
Photosynthesis as a Recipe Metaphor + Story
Imagine you’re a chef named Maria in a bustling kitchen.
You’re creating a special dish called glucose using sunlight (which is energy), water, and carbon dioxide as ingredients.
You mix these in the right proportions and cook them (photosynthesis) to produce a delicious meal and release aromatic steam (oxygen).
By following this recipe, Maria can consistently create her signature dish!
This little story shows how plants use photosynthesis to produce food and oxygen in a very simple & easy to understand way.
Let’s compare this to what you’d read in a biology textbook, good luck…
“Photosynthesis is a biochemical process in which light energy is converted into chemical energy in the form of glucose. It occurs in the chloroplasts of plant cells, where chlorophyll pigments absorb photons. This energy is used to split water molecules (H₂O) into oxygen (O₂), protons (H⁺), and electrons (e⁻). The electrons travel through the electron transport chain, creating a proton gradient that powers ATP synthase to produce ATP. Simultaneously, NADP⁺ is reduced to NADPH. In the Calvin cycle, ATP and NADPH are utilized to fix carbon dioxide (CO₂) into organic molecules, ultimately forming glucose (C₆H₁₂O₆).”
Which did you prefer? More importantly, which did you learn more from?
And MOST importantly, which do you think you’ll remember better?
I’m not here to tell you that expertise and a deep understanding of concepts like this are bad!
I’m just here to demonstrate how much faster you can get to this deep understanding by interweaving knowledge with metaphors and stories!
Listening to stories activates multiple brain regions, including those involved in language comprehension, sensory processing, and emotional response.
Metaphors within stories add another layer of cognitive and emotional engagement, making the information more relatable and easier to understand.
Cognitive Linguistics and Metaphors
We don’t have time to dive all the way into Cognitive Linguistics today, but I couldn’t write a blog about metaphors & neuroscience without mentioning this area of research.
This concept is kind of trippy because metaphors not only make things easier to learn, but they can shape our perception of reality…
That’s because cognitive linguistics suggests that language (which includes metaphors) and thought are deeply interconnected.
According to this field, metaphors are not just linguistic embellishments but fundamental to how we think, understand, and interact with the world.
Metaphors in Cognitive Linguistics
Steven Pinker, a notable cognitive scientist, posits that our brains are wired for language, but the metaphors and expressions we use shape our thoughts and feelings in subtle but significant ways.
To really bring this home, imagine a scenario where two teachers explain the concept of time to their students, but they use different metaphors to explain it.
Teacher A explains it using the metaphor of a river: "Time is like a river that flows constantly; it moves from the past, through the present, and into the future. Just as you cannot touch the same water twice, each moment in time is unique and once passed, cannot be reclaimed."
Teacher B, uses the metaphor of a journey: "Time is like a road stretching behind and before us. The past is the road behind, filled with memories we can look back on but not walk again. The future is the road ahead, full of places we have yet to visit and explore."
Both metaphors help students understand time, but the imagery and emotions they evoke can shape the students' conceptual frameworks differently.
The river metaphor might emphasize the natural, inevitable flow of time, suggesting a passive experience where time slips away.
The journey metaphor could imply an active journey, where the future is something to be approached with intention and curiosity, and the past is a landscape of learned experiences.
Through different metaphors, these teachers offer their students different cognitive maps for navigating the concept of time, showing how deeply language can influence our perception.
Cognitive linguistics argues that our cognition is shaped by the language we use, and metaphors are a primary way that we make sense of abstract concepts and ideas.
Makes you wonder why we don’t invest more in teachers, doesn’t it?
After all, they literally shape the structure of the neural networks that make up our kid’s brains, and the very way they perceive, understand, and navigate reality for the rest of their lives...
As Marty McFly would say, “Wow, that’s heavy, Doc!”
Shoutout to all the teachers out there.
In fact, share this with a teacher who helped you shape your neural nets by clicking the button below, I bet they’d love to hear from you!
Tell them a crazy brain scientist sends his best and appreciates the hard work they do!
Ms. Frizzle was one of my favorite teachers growing up, and it’s not a surprise that the Magic School Bus show was full of stories and metaphors.
I also had tons of rockstar real-life teachers growing up too though, here’s my Hall of Fame:
Brandy (Sister), Mrs. Perry, Mrs. K, Coach Swingle, Mrs. Russell, Ms. Opie, Mrs. Leimkuehler, Mrs. Erikson, Mr. Spencer, Mr. Adams, Coach Tomlin, Coach Donohoe, Coach Wheeler, Coach Jones, Coach Fowler, Coach Gillespie, Dr. Brown, Dr. Lyonns, Dr. Brittingham, Dr. Brustkurn, Dr. Doling, Dr. Nancy St. Clair, Dr. Drum-Hewitt, Dr. Meyer, Dr. Pauley, Coach Stromer, Coach Bjorkgren, Rich Ramos, Dr. Behaunek, Dr. Walker, Dr. Sasser, Steve Montague, Alex Hormozi, Tony Robbins, Dr. Huberman, Dr. Schwartz, and so many more!
Metaphors Are Life
By now, I hope you can see our love for metaphors is deeply rooted in neuroscience.
Metaphors bridge the gap between the known and the unknown, making abstract concepts more tangible and relatable.
They engage multiple brain regions, enhancing our comprehension and retention of information.
By using metaphors and stories together, we can make learning more enjoyable and effective, transforming complex ideas into something we can all grasp and appreciate.
So, the next time you encounter a metaphor, take a moment to appreciate the cognitive and neural magic happening in your brain, helping you see the world in a new light.
And until next time… Live Heroically 🧠
Supporting Research
Metaphors and Comprehension:
Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors We Live By. University of Chicago Press.
Bowdle, B. F., & Gentner, D. (2005). The career of metaphor. Psychological Review, 112(1), 193–216. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.112.1.193
Neuroscience of Metaphors:
Lai, V. T., Curran, T., & Menn, L. (2009). Comprehending conventional and novel metaphors: An ERP study. Brain Research, 1284, 145-155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainres.2009.05.088
Yang, J., & Shu, H. (2012). Neural correlates of processing Chinese conventional and novel metaphors. Neuropsychologia, 50(11), 2705-2716. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2012.07.020
Cognitive Linguistics and Metaphors:
Fauconnier, G., & Turner, M. (2002). The Way We Think: Conceptual Blending and the Mind's Hidden Complexities. Basic Books.
Gibbs, R. W. (1994). The Poetics of Mind: Figurative Thought, Language, and Understanding. Cambridge University Press.
Stories and Neural Engagement:
Green, M. C., & Brock, T. C. (2000). The role of transportation in the persuasiveness of public narratives. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79(5), 701-721. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.79.5.701
Mar, R. A., & Oatley, K. (2008). The function of fiction is the abstraction and simulation of social experience. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3(3), 173-192. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6924.2008.00073.x
If you made it all the way down here, you’re awesome… Love Cody 😉