--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: By bringing together what we know and…" description: "\"By bringing together what we know and what we don't know through analogy, metaphorical thinking strikes the spark that ignites discovery,\" — James Geary" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aab/james-geary-25748_analogies_by-bringing-together-what-we-know-and-wh_3208968.png" --- # By bringing together what we know and what we don't know… ![“By bringing together what we know and what we don't know through analogy, metaphorical thinking strikes the spark that ignites discovery,” quote by James Geary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aab/james-geary-25748_analogies_by-bringing-together-what-we-know-and-wh_3208968.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aab/james-geary-25748_analogies_by-bringing-together-what-we-know-and-wh_3208968.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aab/james-geary-25748_analogies_by-bringing-together-what-we-know-and-wh_3208968.png) > “By bringing together what we know and what we don't know through analogy, metaphorical thinking strikes the spark that ignites discovery,” [James Geary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-geary/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Analogy and metaphor bridge known and unknown, sparking creative insight and discovery. **In simple terms:** Metaphors connect what we know to what we don’t. Key Takeaway Use analogies to unlock new ideas. Themes creativity learning innovation Mood curious analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - science research - teaching - problem solving - artistic creation Key Concepts Cognitive bridging conceptual blending Questions to Reflect On - When can an analogy mislead? - How do you test an analogy’s validity? A Different Perspective Analogies may oversimplify complex concepts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Analogies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/analogies/) [Analogy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/analogy/) [Analogy Metaphorical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/analogy-metaphorical-5988163/) [Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) [Ignite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignite/) [Ignites Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignites-discovery-5988165/) [Know Analogy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-analogy-5988164/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Metaphorical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphorical/) [Metaphorical Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphorical-thinking-744343/) [Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sparks/) [Strikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strikes/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together/) ## Related quotes > [Metaphor lives a secret life all around us. We utter about six metaphors a minute. Metaphorical thinking is essential to how we understand ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-geary/metaphor-lives-a-secret-life-all-around-us-we-utter-about-six-2/) [James Geary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-geary/) > [Think about what artists, novelists and poets have in common: the ability to engage in metaphorical thinking, linking seemingly unrelated ideas, such as, 'It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vilayanur-s-ramachandran/think-about-what-artists-novelists-and-poets-have-in-common-the/) [Vilayanur S. Ramachandran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vilayanur-s-ramachandran/) > [We have said that consciousness is an operation rather than a thing, a repository, or a function. It operates by way of analogy, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-jaynes/we-have-said-that-consciousness-is-an-operation-rather-than-a-thing-a/) [Julian Jaynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-jaynes/) > [I beg the reader not to go in search of messages. It is a term that I detest because it distresses me greatly, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/primo-levi/i-beg-the-reader-not-to-go-in-search-of-messages-it-is-a-term-that-i/) [Primo Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/primo-levi/) > [I think about dying but I don't want to die. Not even close. In fact my problem is the complete opposite. I want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-healy/i-think-about-dying-but-i-don-t-want-to-die-not-even-close-in-fact-my/) [Matthew Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-healy/) > [If I am allowed to give a metaphorical allusion to the future state of the blessed, I should imagine it by the orange-grove in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphry-davy/if-i-am-allowed-to-give-a-metaphorical-allusion-to-the-future-state/) [Humphry Davy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphry-davy/) > [An enormous amount of scientific language is metaphorical. We talk about a genetic code, where code originally meant a cipher; we talk about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/an-enormous-amount-of-scientific-language-is-metaphorical-we-talk/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Instead of of being so metaphorical with the rhyme, I was encouraged to go straight at it and hit it dead on and not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/instead-of-of-being-so-metaphorical-with-the-rhyme-i-was-encouraged/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [I think you sense the metaphorical resonance of what you're writing without analysing it too carefully. That leads you down dead ends. 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I'm less attached to my settings than,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/throughout-my-career-i-ve-struggled-to-encourage-people-to-read-my/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [And what is the very essence of poetry if it is not this 'metaphorical language'-this marking of the before unapprehended relations of things?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-barfield/and-what-is-the-very-essence-of-poetry-if-it-is-not-this-metaphorical/) [Owen Barfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-barfield/) > [When dams were erected on the Columbia, salmon battered themselves against the concrete, trying to return home. I expect no less from us. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/when-dams-were-erected-on-the-columbia-salmon-battered-themselves/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) > [Cyberspace' is a metaphorical idea which is supposed to be the space where your consciousness is located when you're using computer technology on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/cyberspace-is-a-metaphorical-idea-which-is-supposed-to-be-the-space/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) ## More by James Geary > [A simile is just a metaphor with the scaffolding still up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-geary/a-simile-is-just-a-metaphor-with-the-scaffolding-still-up/) [James Geary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-geary/) > [You only really discover the strength of your spine when your back is against the wall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-geary/you-only-really-discover-the-strength-of-your-spine-when-your-back-is/) [James Geary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-geary/) > [“Why must an aphorism be brief? 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We utter about six metaphors a minute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-geary/metaphor-lives-a-secret-life-all-around-us-we-utter-about-six/) [James Geary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-geary/) > [Heroism often results as a response to extreme events.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-geary/heroism-often-results-as-a-response-to-extreme-events/) [James Geary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-geary/) > [Metaphor impinges on everything, allowing us - poets and non-poets alike - to experience and think about the world in fluid, unusual ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-geary/metaphor-impinges-on-everything-allowing-us-poets-and-non-poets-alike/) [James Geary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-geary/) > [Metaphor lives a secret life all around us. We utter about six metaphors a minute. 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Light and compact, they fit easily into the overhead compartment of your brain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-geary/aphorisms-are-literature-s-hand-luggage-light-and-compact-they-fit/) [James Geary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-geary/) > [Sometimes, you need a door slammed in your face before you can hear opportunity knock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-geary/sometimes-you-need-a-door-slammed-in-your-face-before-you-can-hear/) [James Geary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-geary/) > [Advice is given freely because so much of it is worthless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-geary/advice-is-given-freely-because-so-much-of-it-is-worthless/) [James Geary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-geary/) > [London always reminds me of a brain. It is similarly convoluted and circuitous. A lot of cities, especially American ones like New York and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-geary/london-always-reminds-me-of-a-brain-it-is-similarly-convoluted-and/) [James Geary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-geary/) [Explore all 22 James Geary quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-geary/) ## More Analogies quotes > [I always use the analogy that when you go to a jeans store and put on a new pair of jeans, it's a pair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bana/i-always-use-the-analogy-that-when-you-go-to-a-jeans-store-and-put-on/) [Eric Bana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bana/) > [ Kanye \[West\] just says the funniest analogies that are so random. I should start keeping a book - in 20 years, I'll have a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-kardashian/kanye-west-just-says-the-funniest-analogies-that-are-so-random-i/) [Kim Kardashian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-kardashian/) > [Historical analogy is the last refuge of people who can't grasp the current situation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/historical-analogy-is-the-last-refuge-of-people-who-can-t-grasp-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Calvin: Today for show and tell, I've brought a tiny miracle of nature: a single snowflake! I think we might all learn a lesson…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/calvin-today-for-show-and-tell-i-ve-brought-a-tiny-miracle-of-nature/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [For some people, getting pregnant is as easy as catching cold." And there certainly was an analogy there: Colds and babies were both caused…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/for-some-people-getting-pregnant-is-as-easy-as-catching-cold-and/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [That is why the analogy of stealing does not work. With a thief, we want to know how much money he or she stole,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lukas-foss/that-is-why-the-analogy-of-stealing-does-not-work-with-a-thief-we/) [Lukas Foss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lukas-foss/) > [The nude does not simply represent the body, but relates it, by analogy, to all structures that have become part of our imaginative experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/the-nude-does-not-simply-represent-the-body-but-relates-it-by-analogy/) [Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/) > [His lessons were chock-full of analogies for a variety of musical situations. Those little things were my favorites. 'No . . . that's too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manny-laureano/his-lessons-were-chock-full-of-analogies-for-a-variety-of-musical/) [Manny Laureano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manny-laureano/) > [E-books are impervious to analogy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/e-books-are-impervious-to-analogy/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [Imagination runs out. But it makes sense, right? 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I'm interested in the places where people have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kenna/in-my-photographic-work-i-m-generally-attracted-to-places-that/) [Michael Kenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kenna/) > [There is then no analogy whatever between the operations of the Chess-Player, and those of the calculating machine of Mr. Babbage , and if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/there-is-then-no-analogy-whatever-between-the-operations-of-the-chess/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [The real achievement in discoveries... is seeing an analogy where no one saw one before... 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