Weak or disjointed analogies are one of my pet peeves. I have sat in audiences having just heard a public speaker’s attempt at making an analogy and still didn’t get his or her point. I know analogies are often flawed, and there are very few, if any, perfect analogies. If one is going to use an analogy, then make it a good one, one I can successfully piece together in my own mind. Using a weak analogy is like trying to drive a nail with a pair of pliers.
Analogies most likely drove the thought processes of Thomas Edison, the great inventor. This is perhaps why he invented so many things in his lifetime. He had 1,400 patents to his name.
When asked about genius, he replied, “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.” He insinuates, “Why be a genius when you can work hard and accomplish the same results?” But, too, his ability to think in analogies also contributed to his many successes. He didn’t have to be a genius when he could tap genius through an analogous application.
In the process of his inventing the light bulb, the need for just the right element to use as a filament became obvious. During this process of discovering what would work best, one of his experiments included a spool of cotton sewing thread. His first theory proposed carbonizing the cotton thread to use as a filament. He carefully bent this tiny thread into a proper shape, laid it in a nickel mold, and set it in a furnace for five hours. In most cases, the filament broke when he tried to remove it. Unwavering, he used an entire spool of thread. Finally, he mounted a tiny carbon filament in a sealed bulb and pumped out the air. This prototype electric light bulb burned nonstop for nearly two days in the year 1879. After sending out global search teams, spending $40,000, and performing 1,200 experiments, the simple spool of thread present in the laboratory answered the next step in the dilemma.[1]
Edison said that to invent all you need is a “good imagination and a pile of junk.” And what is junk? Though the items have outstayed their welcome, in most cases junk can be identified as common, everyday objects. Cotton thread certainly is common. So, in an effort to discover and invent things that would eventually change the modern world, Edison connected to the common and mundane. From there he made an analogous application, mixed with focus and hard work, and invented even more.
Edison related successfully to areas of mystery by first drawing on the common knowledge of his previous inventions and the many things he learned from such familiar things as cotton sewing thread. He made the assumption that there were similarities between his previous discoveries and then compared that information to a new, unidentified area. Comparing what he already knew to one area where he had no knowledge, he would discover or invent something new. Thinking in analogies gave him a handle to wrestle successfully with the unknown.
0 Comments