Why Analogies Matter

“It’s like when you have that little extra left in the soda can, and you simply can’t get it out no matter what…”

He chuckled.

“That’s a good way to put it, Vince.”

Have you ever struggled to explain a complex idea or concept to someone? If you have, then you know the rush you get when you see it “click” for them as well.

That’s the true reward of clear communication, teaching, and connecting with others. It’s one that I’ve been addicted to since I was a child when I first learned about similes, metaphors, and idioms. “Freakonomics” is one of my favorite books because it connects seemingly unrelated things together, and neurodivergence has recently become of interest in that it’s like the six degrees of Kevin Bacon on steroids.

Analogies are a powerful way to think because it connects two disciplines together using some aspect that functions in similar fashion and bootstraps your entire mindset in different directions. It bridges the gaps in understanding, crystallizes the abstract with a relatable anchor, and solidified persuasive arguments into concrete concepts.

Over the next seven days, you’ll receive an issue a day on some of my best methods on how I honed my own abilities. Beyond that point, you’ll be able to leverage this latent skill into your own everyday conversations, lessons you may teach, and enable you to begin seeing the world in all its wonder the way the greatest minds in history such as Albert Einstein and the late Stephen Hawking pushed the unified field theory.

Oh, and it will bring your writing to life in ways that will help you, whatever your objective for it may be.

Let’s get started and begin at the very beginning (a very good place to start).

What exactly is an analogy?

According to Merriam-Webster:

The most relevant definitions that we’ll deal with are the first two, the most effective for writing and speaking being number one. The second definition is the one that causes the synaptic connection, that moment, the “click” that occurs when someone reads or hears your message with instant clarity.

We’re going to use the first definition as the hammer that drives the nail of your message home as we construct the building to house your knowledge (see what I did there?)

How about a few other examples?

• how you organize information and how computer memory works

• how traffic behavior, both urban and rural, relates to electrical engineering

• how throwing balls between doorways relates to signal integrity and electromagnetism

These are some of my favorites.

Don’t think you have what it takes to do it? Think again. Let’s use the last section to point out why you already have everything you need to get started. It’s just a matter of shifting your perspective and updating your mindset.

You already qualify because of this one thing

Maybe you noticed in the previous section that the three examples I offered were all related. I’m an electrical and computer engineer after all, and I’ve used these analogies to teach everyone that cares to listen from operators and techs to people in marketing and human resources.

Teaching has always been a passion of mine, and I was a tenure-track professor before switching to industry. I can tell you that you don’t need any degree to master analogous thinking and expression.

Why?

Because I started doing it at a young age. You draw from your life experience, and it only gets deeper, richer, and more powerful the longer you’re alive.

I explored various disciplines across art and academia from music to martial arts to dance as well as biology, chemistry, engineering. The key to using analogies is to start shifting from thinking of everything in terms of silos and to begin thinking of them as networks.

Nothing is isolated. Everything is related.

Perhaps you’d prefer the Assassin’s Creed: “Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.”

Ok, that’s probably a stretch, but hear me out. I would say that the saying relates to the fact that things believed to be impossible are limited in the mind. I mean, think about what we’ve accomplished as a species since the pandemic. AI, fundamental nuclear fusion, quantum teleportation, humanoid robotics, and more are beginning to mature faster than ever.

You haven’t been using analogies much because you aren’t thinking of how your life experiences relate to one another. Finance, engineering, parenting, cooking, weight training…all of these have fundamentals that are related to each other. My dad pointed this out to me when I was still unsure of my life’s pursuit:

• Finance? Currency flow.

• Engineering? Energy flow.

• Parenting? Love flow.

• Cooking? Ingredient flow.

• Weight training? Biomechanical flow.

Unlocking this perspective is how analogies thrive, and it’s where you come in.

Time to dust the cobwebs off the old noodle noggin

Pick an idea or concept from your field of expertise.

How would you explain it to:

• a child

• a teenager

• a college student

• a graduate student

• a professional colleague

If you’ve seen these on YouTube, then you know exactly what I’m getting at. Just look up the phrase “5 levels of difficulty”. Somewhere along the way, you’ll have to use an analogy or two, and you’ve most likely been doing it all your life without reflecting on it.

Get going!

How YOU doin?

If you’ve read this far, then you’ve probably had a sensation of “deja vu” somewhere along the way. It’s because I have a penchant for using references from various TV shows and movies that stick out in my head as I write. I think there were three in this one.

This seven-day course provides a structure, a scaffold, a framework, for you to refine this skill. Tomorrow’s lesson will be on how to construct an effective one.

Let me know if you have any feedback in the comments!