VI.  Analogies

Section 1 Introduction

We often explain and emphasize our ideas by using analogies. For example, when we say “John is a chip off the old block,” we bring home forcefully the similarity between John and his father. In effect we are saying John is so similar to his father, it’s as if John were cut from the same material. Similarly, we read in the Bible “The Lord is my shepherd”—and from just these five words we get a clearer feeling for the protection and comfort felt by the Psalmist than we might from a lengthy, literal essay. Biologists tell us “the heart is like a mechanical pump,” and we immediately understand the heart’s role in circulating the blood. And in physics, new insights were gained when Lord Rutherford suggested that the solar system be used as a model for the atom, with electrons around the nucleus taken as analogous to planets around the sun.

Each of these statements or comparisons originates in analogous thinking. This is shown by presenting each of the ideas in the basic form of the simple analogy.

John is similar to his father as a chip is similar to the block from which it is cut.

The Lord cares for me as a shepherd cares for his sheep.

The heart moves the blood as a mechanical pump moves fluids.

Electrons circle an atom’s nucleus as planets circle the sun.

Analogies help us explain ideas to other people. More than that, they often lead us to new discoveries and inventions. Alexander Graham Bell believed that an apparatus for transmitting human conversation—a telephone—could be constructed. But he had enormous difficulty perfecting a means for converting voice sounds to electrical impulse so that speech could be carried through wires.

At one point he tried attaching a harp to an electromagnet. Striking a tuning fork in the vicinity of the harp caused selected strings to resonate, producing electrical waves. But this ponderous contraption was unsatisfactory for conversation.

Bell’s friend—the prominent Boston aurist, Dr. Clarence Blake—suggested that Bell study the human ear rather than continue experimenting with mechanical instruments, and gave the inventor an ear with connecting organs cut from the head of a cadaver. Bell observed that although the eardrum was extremely thin and light, it was able to move the three heavy inner-ear bones which formed the mechanical linkage of the ear. Bell later recalled, “it struck me that the bones of the human ear were very massive, indeed, as compared with the delicate thin membrane that operated them, and the thought occurred that if a membrane so delicate could move bones relatively so massive, why should not a thicker and stouter piece of membrane move my piece of steel.”

That was the breakthrough. Various iron disks and membranes were tried. Finally in 1875 a diaphragm of gold-beater’s skin (which is very thin) was fastened to a metal armature adjacent to an electromagnet and the first working microphone, an integral part of any telephone, was created.

This bit of history is an example of a biological analogy furnishing critical information for a mechanical invention. The analogy can be expressed:

The strategy of looking for biological analogies to aid in technological developments is so fruitful that an entirely new science called Bionics has come into existence. The Journal of Creative Behavior describes Bionics in the following way:

The primary role which analogous thinking plays in scientific invention, mathematical induction, and literary creation indicates that when a person systematically analyzes an analogy he uses the same mental skills that are important in comprehending and integrating all areas of advanced human knowledge. As you work the analogy problems in the chapter, you will find it necessary to spell ideas out fully, formulate precise relationships of facts, seek correspondences between diverse ideas, and compare relationships for similarities and differences. These are the activities which underlie the mastery of all academic courses, stretching from poetry to political science to calculus. These are the mental tools which have been used to shape all cultural and technological achievements.

Section 2 The “Relationship Sentence”

Here is an analogy:

To really understand this analogy you must be able to show that the relationship between gills and fish is in some way the same as the relationship between lungs and humans. You must be able to spell out exactly what the relationship is.

You could show the relationship with a “Relationship Sentence” like this:

Relationship Sentence: _____are used for breathing by _____.

Section 3 Choosing Relationship Sentences

Each of the following problems presents an analogy and three possible relationship sentences. Your task is to pick the correct relationship sentence and substitute both pairs of words into the sentence to show it is correct.

Example 1

Relationship Sentence a. A_____ is a_____.

Relationship Sentence b. A_____ cuts wood with a_____.

Relationship Sentence c. A_____ uses a tool called a_____.

Which relationship sentence is correct? Let’s try substituting both pairs of words in relationship sentence a.

This is wrong. A carpenter is not a saw and a plumber is not a wrench.

Let’s try relationship sentence b.

This is wrong. A plumber does not cut wood with a wrench.

Finally we’ll try relationship sentence c.

This is a good relationship sentence. It shows why we say the relationship between carpenter and saw is similar to the relationship between plumber and wrench.

One more example is presented below.

Example 2

Choose the correct relationship sentence. Then copy it twice; once with stewardess-airplane substituted into the blanks and the second time with waitress-restaurant in the blanks.

Relationship Sentence a. A_____ gives safety instructions in a(n) _____.

Relationship Sentence b. A_____ works in a(n) _____.

Relationship Sentence c. A_____ is a(n)_____.

Solution

The correct answer is relationship sentence b.

i.    first word pair: A stewardess works in an airplane.

ii.   second word pair: A waitress works in a restaurant.

There is one complication. You say “an” airplane, but you say “a” restaurant. Because of this, the n is put in parenthesis in the relationship sentence.

A_____ works in a(n) _____.

The parenthesis means that the n can be either used or omitted, whichever is appropriate.

Analogy Problems

For each of the following analogies, pick the best relationship sentence. Then copy that relationship sentence twice, once with the first word pair placed in the blanks, and once with the second word pair. Include or omit any letters in parentheses as appropriate.

Here is an example.

book is to paper as shirt is to cloth

a.  A_____ is made of linen or some other_____.

b.  A_____ is words printed on_____.

c.  A_____ is primarily made of_____.

Sentence c is correct.

i.    first word pair: A book is primarily made of paper.

ii.  second word pair: A shirt is primarily made of cloth.

1.   guitar is to pick as fiddle is to bow

a.  A_____ is played with a_____.

b.  A_____ is plucked with a_____.

c.  A_____ is a_____.

i.    first word pair:

ii.  second word pair:

2.   water is to thirsty as food is to hungry

a.  You drink_____ when you are_____.

b.  You drink_____ and eat_____.

c.  You consume_____ when you are_____.

i.    first word pair:

ii.  second word pair:

3.   bicycle is to airplane as cabin is to skyscraper

a.  A_____ and a(n)_____ are used for travel.

b.  A_____ is simpler but used for the same purpose as a(n)_____.

c.  You can live in a_____ or a(n) _____.

i.    first word pair:

ii.  second word pair:

4.   hotter is to hot as colder is to cold

a.  _____ means the same as_____.

b.  _____means to _____.

c.  _____ means more_____.

i.    first word pair:

ii.  second word pair:

5.   decrease is to smaller as magnify is to larger

a.  _____ means_____.

b.  _____ means make_____.

c.  _____ means make shorter or_____.

i.    first word pair:

ii.  second word pair:

6.   student is to truant as soldier is to A.W.O.L.

a.  A _____out of school is_____.

b.  A_____ can be court marshalled for being_____.

c.  A_____ who is absent illegally is_____.

i.    first word pair:

ii.  second word pair:

7.   polluted is to pure as tainted is to undefiled

a.  _____ and_____ start with the same letter.

b.  _____and_____ are opposite in meaning.

c.  _____and_____ mean dirty.

i.    first word pair:

ii.  second word pair:

8.   dam is to flood as vaccination is to disease

a.  A_____ holds back water to prevent a_____.

b.  A_____ is given by a doctor to prevent a_____.

c.  A_____ is used to prevent a_____.

i.    first word pair:

ii.  second word pair:

9.   fence is to garden as bumper is to car

a.  A_____ helps protect a_____.

b.  A_____ keeps trespassers out of a_____.

c.  A_____ surrounds a_____.

i.    first word pair:

ii.  second word pair:

10.   speed is to injured as caution is to safe

a.  _____ may result in a person being_____.

b.  _____ and inattention result in a person being_____.

c.  _____ and alertness result in a person being_____.

i.    first word pair:

ii.  second word pair:

11.   20 is related to 10 as 50 is related to 25

a.  _____ is ten more than_____.

b.  _____ is twice_____.

c.  _____ is one-half of_____.

i.    first word pair:

ii.  second word pair:

12.   20 is related to 10 as 50 is related to 40

a.  _____ is ten more than_____.

b.  _____ is twice_____.

c.  _____ is one-half of_____.

i.    first word pair:

ii.  second word pair:

13.   50 is related to 48 as 67 is related to 64

a.  _____ is two more than_____.

b.  _____ is larger than_____.

c.  _____ is smaller than_____.

i.    first word pair:

ii.  second word pair:

14.   30 is related to 20 as 60 is related to 40

a.  _____ is ten more than_____.

b.  _____ is one and one-half times_____.

c.  _____ is smaller than_____.

i.    first word pair:

ii.  second word pair:

15.   20 is related to 40 as 30 is related to 60

a.  _____ is twice_____.

b.  _____ is larger than_____.

c.  _____ is one-half of_____.

i.    first word pair:

ii.  second word pair:

16.   40 is related to 30 as 80 is related to 60

a.  _____ is three-quarters of _____.

b.  _____ is one and one-third times_____.

c.  _____ is smaller than_____.

i.    first word pair:

ii.  second word pair:

17.   50 is related to 60 as 10 is related to 12

a.  _____ is 10 less than_____.

b.  _____ is one and one-fifth times_____.

c.  _____ is five-sixths of_____.

i.    first word pair:

ii.  second word pair:

18.   70 is related to 80 as 14 is related to 16

a.  _____ is eight-sevenths of_____.

b.  _____ is seven-eighths of_____.

c.  _____ is seven-fourteenths of_____.

i.    first word pair:

ii.  second word pair:

19.   warm is to hot as smile is to laugh

a.  (A)_____ is a mild form of (a)_____.

b.  (A)_____ and a_____ stem from something funny.

c.  (A)_____ and (a) _____ are the opposite of cold.

i.    first word pair:

ii.  second word pair:

20.   roar is to sea as howl is to wind

a.  _____ is the sound of water crashing in the_____.

b.  _____ is the sound of the turbulent air of the_____.

c.  _____ is the sound of the_____.

i.    first word pair:

ii.  second word pair:

21.   surgeon is to scalpel as writer is to words

a.  The tool of the_____ is (the)_____.

b.  A_____ performs appendectomies with a_____.

c.  A_____ uses_____ to communicate ideas.

i.    first word pair:

ii.  second word pair:

22.   menu is to restaurant as guidebook is to city

a.  A _____ shows the foods available in a_____.

b.  A _____ lists what is available in a_____.

c.  A_____ lists the sights in a_____.

i.    first word pair:

ii.  second word pair:

23.   rake is to hoe as fork is to spoon

a.  A _____ has prongs while a _____ is solid.

b.  A _____ and a _____ are used in gardening.

c.  A _____ and a _____ are eating utensils.

i.    first word pair:

ii.  second word pair:

24.   aspirin is to headache as solace is to misfortune

a.  _____ is taken with water to relieve a_____.

b.  _____ relieves the pain of a_____.

c.  _____ causes a_____.

i.    first word pair:

ii.  second word pair:

When you have completed this series of problems, discuss your answers in class to be sure they are correct.

Homework Assignment

After you have had an opportunity to work some problems in class, make up several problems of the same type for homework. Each problem should include an analogy and three possible relationship sentences, only one of which is correct. Also, show that both pairs of words can be placed into the correct relationship sentence.