The Power of Analogy
I am in awe of those who use powerful analogies in their writing and speaking. When done well, an analogy can take a complicated concept and make it understandable to a lay audience. It can change an abstract idea into a concrete, visual and sometimes humorous example.
Ben Stein did this wonderfully in a recent article in the New York Times. The premise of his argument is that the Obama administration is taking on too many issues at once. It’s a theory I’ve heard often in the last few months.
But Stein brought it alive with the analogy of a plump man hit by a truck while crossing the street. Hospitalized in critical condition, the man has severe internal bleeding. The doctor, rather than just stabilizing the patient, decides that since the man is unconscious, he might as well also do a face lift, a couple heart bypasses, and stomach-stapling. Why waste a good crisis?
A good analogy never fails to bring for me an “ah-hah” moment. Back in my school days, I wondered why, in preparing for the SATs, I had to learn things like “idea is to crux as apple is to _______?”
Now I know: analogies rule!
