Observation without metaphor: pre-dawn air

[elainegrey]

In a recent New York Times "Smarter Living" column, [You’re Not Paying Attention, but You Really Should Be:
How to actually notice the world around you.], the author relates advice from Rob Walker, author of “The Art of Noticing.”

Another of my favorite tactics Mr. Walker suggests: Record 10 metaphor-free observations about the world this week. This is deceptively simplistic: Who couldn’t look at 10 things this week and write them down? The trick is the no metaphors hook. You’re just noticing, not comparing, analyzing or referencing. You’re forced to slow down and truly contemplate the world around you, rather than passively breezing through it.

I'm not sure this is a practice i need, but i am curious. Metaphor only or also simile?

I stepped out in the pre-dawn air, following a barking Carrie Dog. She had been awakened by something -- I assume some vehicle coming or going along the dirt road across from our driveway. The air was cooler than inside, fresh, dry. Cassiopeia shone over the house, moonlight shimmered through the trees. It made me realize the hot months may be about half over (assuming September brings relief).

Which didn't seem that hard, although i suspect "fresh" was once upon a time a metaphor. The word began as Old English fersc ‘not salt, fit for drinking’, per the Apple dictionary, and the metaphorical use broadened its definition. Since the fifth definition begins with "(of the wind)" i don't think it's currently a metaphor.

I don't think i have a problem with noticing the world around me. I am a little blind to people's appearance and voices, i guess, though.

I suppose noticing voices could lead to metaphor. Would "gravelly" count as a metaphor at this point? Dictionary definition gives, "(of a voice) deep and rough-sounding." I looked up "rough" because that seemed to be metaphorical applied to sound, and got "(of a voice) harsh and rasping." Well, "rasping" really must be a metaphor, but the dictionary definition is "harsh-sounding and unpleasant; grating: his cracked, rasping voice narrates the story."

When does a metaphor stop being a metaphor? The technical terms for insect antennae come to mind. Off the top of my head some of the Latin terms used mean club-like, feather-like, comb-like, and like a string of beads. [here] Well, these are similes.

I appreciate that the practice is to stop one from putting an experience in a bucket defined by a familiar experience (metaphorically!) and focus on the present, actual experience. By excluding metaphor (and simile? Why not simile?), presumably one needs to stop and notice the qualities.

But how often do non-creative-writers use metaphor to describe things (if we accept dictionary definitions such as fresh for wind and rough for voice?) Similes i would expect to be in frequent use: "They looked like a movie star, gardener, executive. "

Must stop thinking about this.

I'm taking a class today on persuasion and have 3 points to ponder
1. When was the last time your mind was changed by an argument? It might not happen often, so have a think. How did the other person change your view?

2. How do you normally try to convince people to your way of thinking? On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is “never,” how often are you successful at this?

3. When was the last time you were sold something that you didn’t really need? Chances are, there were some psychological tactics at play—what made you buy?

The second question is the easiest to answer: I don't do this frequently, and if i do it is with an appeal to reason. At work, in contexts where others are depending on my expertise, i generally don't have to persuade. It's collaborative work so disagreements tend to fade as the entire problem is examined. I think in this context, i feel quite successful: 9. At home, where preferences come into play (such as arranging furniture), i try hard to understand why we have a difference of opinion. Sometimes time helps with persuasion when a problem i predicted comes to pass and we then resolve it as i originally proposed. Again, generally it's collaborative problem solving, but convincing my spouse of the problem before it manifests is hard. 5?

I can't think of times i was sold something i don't need. I'm planning on coloring my hair, which i don't *need*, but no single person has persuaded me to do it. I avoid malls and big shopping stores, i'm aware of end-of-isle impulse buys in stores. I suppose i am most susceptible to buying extra when things are on sale -- but they aren't things i didn't need.

As far as having my mind changed by an argument, i feel my mind isn't so fixed. I believe people to be complicated, so when someone is advocating for a solution that worked for them, i can believe they are telling the truth without it challenging my sense of a solution that is working for me. The factors that make it right for them may not be factors i have in my situation. On the other hand, i am open to learning new ways of doing things: learning is all about having your mind changed. The most concrete experience i can think of has to do with judging the outcome of the Google book settlement's dismissal. I ran across a recent article that framed the dismissal as a disaster. It's not the belief i have at all. Just skimming the article and knowing someone i respect shared it, leads me to wonder about how well considered my current belief is.

I have a suspicion that my mental processes are far more fluid and flexible than average, so i don't think what works for me is necessarily going to work for others.

Comments

[annie_r]

Yesterday's weather was so lovely; I enjoyed the feeling of walking in the sun (in between shady spots) with Andy. September is a cruel month. We expect relief, but it doesn't really happen until October, although signs of it start earlier.

I think of you as someone who is an actively close observer of the world and details. The study of metaphor is something that I was more involved in during my time studying linguistics. Metaphor is deeply entrenched in our everyday language and thinking (i.e. the word 'entrenched' there) This book is I think pretty readable (I just pulled it off the shelf and will have a look, but it was meant for a general audience I think) and I can lend you my copy if you're interested:

https://www.amazon.com/Metaphors-We-Live-George-Lakoff/dp/0226468011/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3VNEFRZXCN02E&keywords=metaphors+we+live+by&qid=1564062466&s=books&sprefix=metaphors%2Caps%2C167&sr=1-1

Shopping for what I don't need, oh my, I could write many paragraphs. A lot of different reasons and desires intersect.

[amaebi]

I have spent the past two years increasingly distressed, frustrated, and alarmed at what sorts of thought-sequence pathways enormous numbers of my fellow-USians customarily employ, and which make them easily gamed.

Your thought-pathways are a comfort to me.

!

[warriorsavant]

I'm not sure if the "no metaphors" was meant literally, or more to say, "no cheap outs, actually describe what you are seeing." Even some technical terms, as you note, were originally metaphorical, or just descriptive in Latin or Greek. (Example: "phylloid" simply meaning "leaf shaped.") Somethings can only be described metaphorically, such as sounds. I'm going to go out on a limb (ouch! that was not deliberate) and assume he also meant "no easy cliches for description." Also, how about assumptions? Why were you assuming why Carrie was barking? You're probably right, but it is an after-the-fact thought process, not an immediate description.

[yourlibrarian]

Interesting series of questions. I know that my mind has been changed in the past by hearing about things, usually research or personal experiences which have contradicted a previously held opinion. However, I suspect I am more often convinced by facts and such about things I didn't have a strong opinion before on anyway because I knew I didn't know much about it.

I always assume, generally very wrongly, that practicality makes sense to other people ;)

There's quite a few things I own that are not necessary, generally decorative items or new clothes. I am most often convinced by a sale, when I know something's a good price because I tend to track the costs for that thing. I buy few things impulsively, whether food or less transitory items. I dislike clutter and have been actively trying to get things out of my house for some time, so I'm rarely keen to buy more things.

[urbanspaceman]

I can't help but notice "cooler than inside" is also comparative, and indicates metacognition rather than simple observation.

Frankly, though, I think these prescriptive exercises from popular psych books are often less helpful than they might be; they don't seem to produce any useful permanent changes in most users' state of mind.

This one, I daresay, has served its purpose for you-- which was to make you aware of any tendency to over-analyze instead of simply experiencing the moment, without realizing what you're doing. ;-)

PS

[urbanspaceman]

For what it's worth, I think discouraging metacognition is irresponsible of the Rob Walker; in my opinion, more Americans need to practice more rational thinking than freeing themselves from what little they already practice! (Still, I suppose relatively few of the ones who think more would be reading that article in the first place.)

[gurdonark]

My answers:

1. I adjust my thinking about things in light of others' argument often. But I am not sure I fundamnetally change my whole thinking as often.

2. I try to persuade people of things virtually every day. I am probably successful somewhere in the 5 to 6 range, a bit higher in a professional setting.

3. I think this one is difficult, because "need" is to me a narrow word. I notice I sometimes buy things I don't use. I think what persuades me is the idea of imagined fun from this or that.

I like that idea of observation without metaphor. I went through a phrase in which I eschewed
sarcasm. I found I could communicate better without it, but eventually I added it back to my repertoire.

[egret]

Thank you for this thoughtful post.

I do not have the theorist's name right now, but I remember there was an environmental literary theorist who argued that language tools for metaphor are hardcoded in the brain because metaphor is a type of unmasking one thing lurking in another, the way that predators visually unmask the camouflaged prey. We unmask meaning.

Practical arguments most easily win me over: it will be faster and easier to do it another way. I will likely get off my high horse and agree to faster and easier.

I normally convince people via empathy: How would you feel if this happened to you? Wouldn't it feel great if we...? Sometimes practical: it will be so much faster and easier...

The last thing I bought that I didn't need was more books. Because, books. Also, some ridiculous makeup brushes that are neon colors and shaped like mermaid tails, because they make me smile when I see them, so silly and pretty.