Chapter 7

Metamining: Deconstructing Metaphors for Meaning

Now there’s a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky.

—Pink Floyd, “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”

The members of the 1970s rock group, Pink Floyd, were masters at developing metaphors in their lyrical content. Their lyrics, even those that are more obscure such as the one above, carry a haunting message that causes us to search deeply for the meaning. And when we find that meaning, we discover the sheer genius of the imagery in their songs. Take a moment to consider this lyric. The song is about Syd Barrett, guitarist and a founding member of Pink Floyd. As a child, he was a very bright and intelligent. Later in life, he began to abuse drugs and eventually his personality bordered on schizophrenia. These lyrics describe how his eyes had lost their luster and had become dark like looking into eternity and seeing nothing. It is a sad song but one that illustrates the incredible dark, poetic caricature that was Syd’s life. Many who have heard this song looked into the darkness of eternity, were horrified by what they saw, and reversed course to change their lives for the better.

Seeking meaning in life is key to succeeding in life. Words and how they are structured give us a way to understand life’s meaning. In particular, metaphors paint meaningful pictures that, if correctly understood, can present powerful elements that inform our knowledge of ourselves and the world around us. “Metamining” is the act of searching for meaning in the elements of the metaphor. Taken as a whole, the metaphor has meaning only in so far as the viewer of the metaphor is able to bring meaning to it. He or she will view the metaphor in its context and apply meaning based upon their perspective influenced by such things as bias, experience, and gender. That, however, does not preclude the fact that a metaphor can be understood and be given meaning. For the purposes of metaformation, this is our goal, but before this can be established, metaphors must first be “mined” for greater meaning.

Metaphors, by their very existence, are meant to bring meaning to an illustration in a simple way. Without this, metaphors have no value except in presentation, to show two things side by side. Presentation is not enough, however, to gain meaning from a metaphor requires us to take apart the metaphor and view its components separately in order to seek greater insight.

Looking Beyond Context

While context of the metaphor has value, unfortunately, it can also limit meaning. The process of metamining motivates one to look beyond the context for added value. It also allows for peripheral but connected concepts to be considered. For example, in my initial application using the metaphor of playing cards, I was able to include everything related to card games, rules, hierarchy, sequence, structures, and players. These added elements of richness helped to define context. Although I have bias, it was recognizable and understood by you, the reader. Although we may not always agree with every perspective brought forth by the originator of a metaphor, we can usually understand it. In this way, the metaphor has served its purpose.

Understandability is only effective, however, if the persons initiating the use of a metaphor explain clearly their approach to the metaphor and how they view the elements and the overall meaning. This should include the meaning of any peripheral concepts as well. However, as you’ll recall from the previous chapter, the first thing that must occur is to find a metaphor that is structurally aligned.

Relationship Is Critical

For structural alignment to exist, a relationship must be demonstrated between the target, its attribute or attributes, and the vehicle. One way to begin a search for an appropriate metaphor is to identify the target object and the attributes that you would like to emphasize. Let’s look at the following example.

Again, using the metaphor, “The young boy’s strength was that of a thousand pulling horses as he lifted the car off of his mother,” we’ve identified the target, the young boy and the attribute, his strength. Next we categorize things that exemplify the attribute of strength and the vehicles that fall into this category. The vehicle is chosen because it is a member of the category that exemplifies the category’s defining features. Horses are generally considered strong animals. We could have used a powerful locomotive, a WWF wrestler, or even an ant carrying a hundred times its weight. Each of these objects retains the attribute of strength. However, we chose a thousand pulling horses because of the mental picture magnified by the significant number of horses.

Going back to the metaphor of playing cards, we are now better prepared to understand the power of that metaphor. Playing cards and living life have a relational structural alignment in that, to some degree, both are seen as games of chance. We might have used the attribute of “chance” and chosen horse racing, Russian roulette, or any other activity that involves chance. However, multiple attributes were included such as the fact that cards have hierarchical values or priorities, as does life. Most card games allow one to draw additional cards while discarding others, just as life includes decisions and their consequences. Finally, in the same way that card games have rules, so does living life.

Attributes Point to Principles

When one digs deeper into the game of cards, new insights begin to reveal themselves. At this point, principles can be derived from the metaphor. Incredible power begins to emerge in the ability of the vehicle to inform the target of additional benefits it brings to the relationship. Consider the following:

•Playing a winning hand requires one to keep victory in their sights.

•When you are failing let your playing experience and your instincts, take over.

•Stay focused on all the cards that are being played and the sequence of play.

•Reject distractions.

•Teams provide more cards at your disposal to increase your chances of winning.

•There are champions on every team – use them.

•A team member can be an asset.

The following Table 7.1 more clearly shows the initial attributes as well as these just listed for a total of ten. The table also shows the principles that emerged and were stated in the first chapter.

Translating Attributes

The translation of attributes to principles is somewhat of an art that most of us can develop. While the process is the same for everyone, the outcomes may be uniquely different. This is because attributes may have different meanings for different people. These meanings will be impacted by previous experiences. If one has never played cards, then the attributes will be less than clear and certainly the principles will not be readily understood.

Attributes and emerging principles will be affected by bias. If one has only played solitaire, the attributes involving teamwork may not be readily apparent. However, that does not mean that another metaphor can’t be developed using an alternate vehicle in the same category.

Past experiences can cloud the understanding of vehicles that exhibit attributes representing good or evil, which can skew the principles that emerge. Finally, attributes evoke emotions, which vary with individuals in type and degree of intensity. In situations where these issues may exist, it may be better for us to stick to more common, well-known, metaphors that minimize the chance of being misunderstood.

Learning Reinforcement Exercise

1.Circle the two things being compared in each sentence, and tell how they are alike.

a. The manufacturer’s rep is a bulldog.

          _______________________________________

          _______________________________________

          _______________________________________

b. Our production line slowed down like a ship creeping into the harbor at night.

          _______________________________________

          _______________________________________

          _______________________________________

2.Consider the following examples of the metamining process. Fill in the empty cells for the second and third example.

Answers: Answers are in italics

1.Circle the two things being compared in each sentence, and tell how they are alike.

a.The manufacturer’s rep is a bulldog.

  The bulldog is strong and forceful as is the manufacturer’s rep.

b.Our production line slowed down like a ship creeping into the harbor at night.

  Ships must enter the harbor slowly, especially at night when visibility is bad. The production line was slowed to a crawl.

2.Consider the following examples of the metamining process. Fill in the empty blocks for the second and third example.