The Use of Metaphors in Information Systems :: Technology Computer Science

Metaphors Here, There, and Everywherepurpose for the Average JoeA metaphor can be defined as a figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is dod to designate another, then making an implicit comparison (dictionary.com). We use metaphors in our everyday speech more than most people realize. But metaphors are also vital in the field of Information Systems, especially in the design of user inter expressions. To the Average Joes of the world, or those people who have difficulty understanding the change concepts of digital storage, information transmission, and processing, metaphors provide them with relevant concepts to which they can easily bring up. Therefore, metaphors lease a significantly larger amount of the worldly population to use many of the common technologies that we take for granted today. Metaphors Right Under Our liftEvery person in that worldly population can relate to the use of metaphors in everyday speech, no matter wha t their language. It is not anomalous for soul to encounter metaphors multiple times in one day, though many times they go unnoticed even if they are honorable under our nose. These metaphorical phrases are not meant to be taken literally. For example, when someone tells you to bite the roll of tobacco, they are not requesting that you actually put a bullet in between your teeth. In fact, they are asking you to bravely face up to something unpleasant just as many soldiers were asked to clench a bullet in between their teeth (in lieu of anesthetics) to transfer the annoying of the amputation or surgery (something very unpleasant indeed) that they were about to undergo (Expressions and Sayings).You whitethorn also hear someone refer to a person as blowing their own trumpet. Again, this is not to mean that they are playing a grimace instrument, but that they are boasting about themselves, as if they were providing their own flare for their arrival (Expressions and Sayings).I f anyone were to claim that such phrases were to be taken literally, they would be puff your leg. In other words, they would be teasing you and not telling the truth. This grumpy metaphorical phrase originates in Scotland, where someone may have draw back the legs from under someone in order to put the person at a disadvantage, perhaps to rob him (Expressions and Sayings). The saying is used in a much lighter sense today, but still remains a very common metaphor.