As part of my project preparation for BaseCamp 2025, i decided to create a framework for metaphor as a way to quickly template and explore new ways to think.
This started from the simple diagram:
[Abstract ≡ Known] → Current way of thinking.By this we make the abstract equivalent to a known concept. This is the Lakoff description of a metaphor in which we use embodied concepts to make abstract concepts more relateable. A classic is that time flows like a river, or it is a resource. These metaphors allow us to comprehend unknown things. By creating a very visual framework that takes components from Logic, we can actually develop a very simple but versatile system that allows us to visually see the changes. By adding a second statement below we have a comparative system.
[Abstract ≡ Known] → Current way of thinking.
[Abstract ≡ New] → New way of thinking?We can rapidly prototype our ideas with this method.
[Time ≡ River] → Flows in one direction.
[Time ≡ Lake] → A deep pool that we navigate by boat?When Light Replaced Heat
[energy source ≡ heat] → Classic Reactivity.
[energy source ≡ light] → Organic Photochemistry.For all reactions to proceed, you must overcome certain energy barriers. These energy barriers were typically overcome by heating the reactions. But as early as 1908, Italian chemist Giacomo Ciamician held the idea that light could replace heat because it is an energy source that is much more abundant.
This simple thought spurred chemists on for over a century. It wasn’t until 2007 that several studies finally brought this work into workable form, creating the lively topic of organic photoredox catalysis. The metaphor took nearly 100 years to precipitate into the real world. I hope it doesn’t take your metaphors quite that long.
Building on What We Know
The framework becomes even more powerful when you realize you don’t always need to start from scratch. Sometimes the best new metaphors are close neighbors to the old ones:
[ion transport ≡ channel] → Current understanding of a cell
[ion transport ≡ canal] → Lock Protein?The channel metaphor has been incredibly rich for understanding how ions move across cell membranes. But what if we took a similar waterway concept, the canal, and mapped our understanding onto that idea? A canal has locks: a ship moves into a confined space, waits for the water level to change, and then exits on the other side.
Mapping this onto biology gives us a “lock protein”—a molecule moves into the protein lock, waits for a change in the protein, and is then released on the opposite side of the membrane. Of course, I’m nearly 80 years too late with this suggestion, as it describes what we call a carrier protein. But it shows how the framework can help you build on existing knowledge rather than rebuild from nothing.
Problems as Chemistry, Not Puzzles
Perhaps my favorite example comes from Lakoff and Johnson themselves:
[Solution ≡ puzzle] → Only one answer (permanently solved)
[Solution ≡ chemical] → Problems are solvated (temporary)In their account, an Iranian student in Berkeley kept hearing people speak of the “solution to our problems.” To him, this was a beautifully chemical metaphor: a large beaker of liquid, bubbling and smoking, with problems either dissolved or sitting as precipitates.
The task, he imagined, was not to find one perfect answer, but to discover catalysts or changes that would dissolve certain problems, at least for a while, without causing others to crystallize out. This shifts our entire mindset—problems never vanish completely; they shift states, and our job is to keep them in solution as best we can.
The Framework in Practice
What I love about this diagrammatic approach is how it makes the process visible and systematic. You can see exactly what you’re changing and what the implications might be. The abstract concept stays the same, but by swapping out what it’s equivalent to, you unlock new directions for thinking.
I created a little website to explore this further, and I’m finding that the framework works particularly well for rapid prototyping of ideas. Whether you’re stuck on a research problem, trying to understand a complex concept, or just want to think differently about something familiar, the visual structure helps you see possibilities you might otherwise miss.
The key is that metaphors aren’t just decorative—they’re operational. They determine what questions we ask, what solutions we can imagine, and ultimately what becomes possible.
iniphi.co.uk 