mind: meet metaphor - polish scientific networks 2016
TRANSCRIPT
I have developed an optimisation algorithm that reduces data transfer without quality loss!
I have developed an optimisation algorithm that reduces data transfer without quality loss!
Cool!
But people don’t appreciate it.
So how does your compression work?
We cut off some frequencies at the top and bottom ends of the spectrum.
Oh.
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The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be
sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite insane.
The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite insane.
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The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be
sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite insane.
Mind: Meet Metaphor
• Collective memory of the Holocaust
• Frequency of constructions related to shame in Polish and English
• The idea of otherness and sin in Puritan America
• Cognitive role of gesture in abstract concept development if blind children
What we do in the humanities.
science medicine
technology AI
discovery engineering
software
language art
literature behaviour
beliefs culture religion
STEMhumanities
knowledge-based economy Big Data
R&D
source: the Economist
???
It’s almost as if people don’t trust or understand
science
metaphors
• Collective memory of the Holocaust
• Frequency of constructions related to shame in Polish and English
• The idea of otherness and sin in Puritan America
• Cognitive role of gesture in abstract concept development if blind children
nationalism war guilt
honour shame society
immigration abortion
love marriage universe
Juliet is the Sun
conceptual metaphor
e.g. using a physical concept to explain an
abstract idea „Life is not a bed of roses”
maybe it’s just the way we speak
(it’s not)
but surely scientists don’t use metaphors!
Vaccines and Autism: A Tale of Shifting Hypotheses
Although child vaccination rates remain high, some parental concern persists that vaccines might cause autism. Three specific hypotheses have been proposed: (1) the combination measles-mumps-rubella vaccine causes autism by damaging the intestinal lining, which allows the entrance of encephalopathic proteins; (2) thimerosal, an ethylmercury-containing preservative in some vaccines, is toxic to the central nervous system; and (3) the simultaneous administration of multiple vaccines overwhelms or weakens the immune system. We will discuss the genesis of each of these theories and review the relevant epidemiological evidence.
Vaccines and Autism: A Tale of Shifting Hypotheses
Although child vaccination rates remain high, some parental concern persists that vaccines might cause autism. Three specific hypotheses have been proposed: (1) the combination measles-mumps-rubella vaccine causes autism by damaging the intestinal lining, which allows the entrance of encephalopathic proteins; (2) thimerosal, an ethylmercury-containing preservative in some vaccines, is toxic to the central nervous system; and (3) the simultaneous administration of multiple vaccines overwhelms or weakens the immune system. We will discuss the genesis of each of these theories and review the relevant epidemiological evidence.
child vaccination rates remain high
you are (still) here
parental concern persists
vaccine causes autism by damaging the intestinal lining, which allows the entrance of encephalopathic proteins
can metaphor save the world?
Knowledge is a tool
Knowledge is a goal
deliberate use of metaphor improves understanding between business, science, humanities and
the general public
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Mind: Meet Metaphor
dr Anna Jelec Dept. of Cognitive Linguistics
Faculty of English, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań annajelec.com
presentation available on LinkedIn and researchgate