Comments on: A brain of warring neurons http://mindhacks.com/2013/01/17/a-brain-of-warring-neurons/ Neuroscience and psychology news and views. Wed, 19 Jun 2013 06:47:39 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Han http://mindhacks.com/2013/01/17/a-brain-of-warring-neurons/#comment-50215 Thu, 07 Feb 2013 20:20:56 +0000 http://mindhacks.com/?p=25505#comment-50215 “The figure of speech or of thought by which we transfer the language and ideas of a familiar science to one with which we are less acquainted may be called Scientific Metaphor.”

-James Clerk Maxwell

Not all metaphors/analogies are useful explanations, but many good explanations start by making good analogies. When confronted with a genuinely new phenomenon, one can label it with new gibberish, or use analogies to explain the unknown in terms of the known. The analogies always break down, but they are a solid starting point for productive investigation.

The problem with Dennett’s analogy is not that it is an analogy, but that it links two things that are equally unknown — the brain and human society!

]]> By: Joss http://mindhacks.com/2013/01/17/a-brain-of-warring-neurons/#comment-47373 Tue, 22 Jan 2013 03:58:37 +0000 http://mindhacks.com/?p=25505#comment-47373 Dennett has swapped one analogy for another but still hasn’t understood that analogy is not explaination.

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