I think avoiding spatial metaphors altogether is hard! For example in the paragraph below you use perhaps 3 spatial metaphors (plus others not so obviously spatial but with equal potential for miscommunication).
“The most interesting part of the experiment has been observing the mental vapor-lock that occurs when I disallow myself from casually employing a spatial metaphor … followed by the more-creative, more-thoughtful, less-automatic mental leap I’m forced to make to finish my thought. You discover new ways in which your mind can move.”
I’m sure I even recall encountering views that suggest all thought and language is a superstructure of metaphors based on a few basic sensorily acquired concepts we acquire young. Not sure where I read this though!
That said as a writer I also try to be alert to spatial metaphors that don’t map especially well to the truth of a situation, and endeavour to select only the best ones.
I snuck a few edge-case spatial metaphors in just to show how common they really are in a tongue-in-cheek fashion.
You could probably generalize the post to a different version along the lines of “Try being more thoughtful about the metaphors you employ in communication,” but this framing singles out a specific class of metaphor which is easier to notice.
I think avoiding spatial metaphors altogether is hard! For example in the paragraph below you use perhaps 3 spatial metaphors (plus others not so obviously spatial but with equal potential for miscommunication).
“The most interesting part of the experiment has been observing the mental vapor-lock that occurs when I disallow myself from casually employing a spatial metaphor … followed by the more-creative, more-thoughtful, less-automatic mental leap I’m forced to make to finish my thought. You discover new ways in which your mind can move.”
I’m sure I even recall encountering views that suggest all thought and language is a superstructure of metaphors based on a few basic sensorily acquired concepts we acquire young. Not sure where I read this though!
That said as a writer I also try to be alert to spatial metaphors that don’t map especially well to the truth of a situation, and endeavour to select only the best ones.
I snuck a few edge-case spatial metaphors in just to show how common they really are in a tongue-in-cheek fashion.
You could probably generalize the post to a different version along the lines of “Try being more thoughtful about the metaphors you employ in communication,” but this framing singles out a specific class of metaphor which is easier to notice.