I’ve always remembered learning about metaphors and similes in my English classes in elementary school. It was always taught in a way that made it feel detached from my daily and ordinary language. We would learn what a metaphor is and how it is used, and how it is different from what a simile is and how a simile is used. We would then be instructed to spot these ‘poetic devices’ in sentences, or even to deliberately create our own. After reading the few chapters of Metaphors We Live By, by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, I realized how, in fact, ordinary and common metaphors are in our every day conversations. It is used so regularly, that I almost can’t imagine what it would be like not to use them. Lakoff and Johnson go even further to point out that metaphors are “pervasive in everyday life, not just in language but in thought and action”. We even THINK metaphorically, most of the times without being aware of doing so (which is why the authors make note that metaphor can be defined more precisely as metaphorical concept, because they are conceptualized in our minds before being put into words)! It feels as though metaphors were “built in” to our language– no pun intended!

I felt especially connected to when the authors spoke about the two ways to view an “opponent” in an argument; as merely an arguer or as someone who is willing to give you his time. The authors shed positivity unto what otherwise may be viewed as an egotistical objective. This type of beneficial doubt is what I strive for in my life, so I was pleasantly surprised to read it in this short reading!!