Metaphor and Knowledge

Ken Baake is Assistant Professor of Rhetoric and Technical Communication at Texas Tech University.

"A real glory in this book is Baake's engaging presentation... He is able to write in ways that engage and propel the reader along on a highly enjoyable excursion... The text is populated with the voices and perspectives of his subjects, always showing them [to be] thoughtful and complex, even as they take diametrically opposed positions." — from the Foreword by Stephen A. Bernhardt"Whenever scientists are involved in interdisciplinary projects to simulate phenomena of complex physico-chemical, biotic, or socio-economic systems, they are bound to face communication problems while applying basic disciplinary terms and using metaphors for their conceptual models. The situation at Santa Fe Institute given here is representative for any science research group working on the 'frontier.'" — Charlotte Kaempf, University of Karlsruhe"The concept of metaphor harmonics represents an original and productive way of thinking. These and a number of other findings and concepts are likely to make a big splash. No books address the problem of metaphor in the rhetoric of science quite like this one." — M. Jimmie Killingsworth, coauthor of Information in Action: A Guide to Technical Communication, Second Edition

• FOREWORD ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 1. INTRODUCTION: THE PROBLEM WITH "RULES" AND WHY WORDS WILL NOT SIT STILL Harmonics: Using Music Theory to Explain How Metaphor Works in Science Structure of the Book What Is the Santa Fe Institute? 2. A TECHNICAL WRITER AT THE THINK TANK Establishing Ethos With an "Initial Impressions" ReportA Technical Writer's Balancing Act: Capture the Excitement of Research, but Avoid HypeWriting for the Institute's Bulletin: What Happens When Technical Writers Cannot Find Their Bearings Toward an Audience 3. METAPHOR: CONSTITUTING OR DECORATING THEORY IN SCIENCE Rhetoric at the SFI: A Qualified Acceptance The Meaning of MetaphorMetaphors in Motion: How They Work Metaphor and ScienceFear of Persuasion and Metaphoric HarmonicsRhetorical Alternatives to Metaphor in Science 4. METAPHORS AND MATHEMATICS: A SHARED TRADITION OF CONSTITUTING KNOWLEDGE IN SCIENCE The Metaphors of Information as the New MaterialityRepresenting Reality Platonic Arguments for the Supremacy of MathematicsMetaphor for Understanding a Non-Algorithmic WorldMaking Sloppy Ideas Rigorous No Rational Method of Having Good Ideas SFI Metaphors as Theory Constitutive or Literary? A Tale of Two Terms1 Metaphor Harmonics: Who Intends the Bee to Be Yellow? Metaphor Harmonics: Emergence, the Brain, and Neural Networks Equilibrium and the Prisoner's Dilemma 5. SCIENCE WRITERS LOOKING FOR THEIR AUDIENCE Style and Eloquence in SFI Writing A Matter of Invention: Writing for Scientists and the General Public Incommensurability: Trying to Cross Disciplines 6. "COMPLEXITY": AN ETYMOLOGY LEADING TO A DISCUSSION OF WHETHER IT IS A METAPHOR OR SOMETHING ELSE The Word "Complex" in the Oxford English Dictionary"Complexity" Arrives in Santa FeThe New "Complexity" Returns to Old HauntsIs "Complexity" a Metaphor? 7. MANAGING METAPHOR HARMONICS AND OTHER CHALLENGES OF MAKING KNOWLEDGE IN SCIENCE Speak Carefully and Carry a Paradigm Shift WORKS CITED INDEX