Human thoughts and information, including our abstract ideas and metaphors, are physical. They have shape and weight. The abstract ideas are merely higher-level representations or representations of representations: just like the computer programming languages some of which are higher or lower than the other programming languages. Tom gets a new mobile number, and he memorized it, let's say. The memorization will alter his brain synapses, the tiny gaps across which neurons relay chemical messages. So, our abstract thoughts and ideas, including metaphors, are -- at the bottom; at some level -- inescapably physical.
I raised my eyebrows in surprise when I first read the line, "Thought is physical," in cognitive scientist George Lakoff's book, "Don't Think of an Elephant! Know Your Values and Frame the Debate: The Essential Guide for Progressives".
Another relevant resource is Ralph Lewis's article "What Actually Is a Thought? And How Is Information Physical?"
Metaphor of nation as a family: according to Lakoff, America has two notions of family: a strict-father family Vs. a nourishing-parent family. And those souls that come from the strict-father family will likely orient themselves toward the conservative end of the political spectrum. While those that come from the nourishing-parent family will likely orient themselves toward the progressive end of the political spectrum. Two notions of family and two notions of the nation!
Such things result in the people ending up having a different movie that filters the perception of reality differently: we may not only have various lenses to look at things; we may also have various blind spots (about other people's perspectives) which are, at some level, perhaps, physical.
In spite of the advancements in language and communications, human beings can still easily talk past each other and not understand what the other party is saying if the other party is entirely from the other notion of family or nation or religion or worldview. Whoa!
Previous Posts
Twinkling Along With Joseph
John Boyd's OODA And You
Grand Story + Story + Facts = Meaning (Advanced Writing Course Materials)
I Missed The Gorilla... Did You See It?
Whoever That Said "Fear + Manipulation + Domination = Witchcraft" Is A Superlative Genius
Tom Robinson's Predicament
Time Once Lost: She Once Was An Angel...
Amazing, The Original Myth Explains The Second Myth
When Words Failed...
When Conmen Marry...
Heraclitus: You Can't Step Into The Same River Twice, Can You?
Mimetic Theory: Is This The Best Way To Understand The World?
Absolutism Vs. Relativism, Which Side Are You On?