undefined | Better HN

0 pointsben_w2y ago0 comments

Analogies are like a box of chocolates: overused clichés, but we hand them out and gobble them down with delight.

0 comments

Analogies are decorative writings, not arguments.

They can be arguments, for example if you want to show that the other person has inconsistent views due to feelings or bias an analogy between the two inconsistent scenarios can make that clearer. I've changed my mind thanks to analogies many times.

haswell2y ago

To split hairs a bit, analogies can support arguments, but are not considered a conclusive form of evidence/argumentation in and of themselves in formal logic.

While the analogy may have been instrumental in helping change your mind, it likely did so by helping you understand the actual underlying argument.

1 more reply

ggm2y ago

I love the orange cream. I hate the nougat.

dylan6042y ago

what if you're wrong

ggm2y ago

Then I have to change my mind. But I think right now, it's not that I'm wrong to prefer orange cream, it's that I can't justify it from objective criteria except that one time I split a tooth on hard nougat which might colour my preferences

1 more reply

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 comments

efitz2y ago

Analogies are decorative writings, not arguments.

Jensson2y ago

haswell2y ago

To split hairs a bit, analogies can support arguments, but are not considered a conclusive form of evidence/argumentation in and of themselves in formal logic.

While the analogy may have been instrumental in helping change your mind, it likely did so by helping you understand the actual underlying argument.

1 more reply

ggm2y ago

I love the orange cream. I hate the nougat.

dylan6042y ago

what if you're wrong

ggm2y ago

1 more reply

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse