Theories Of Linguistic Metaphor Applied To Technology And Innovation

Earlier today Mashable contributor Venkatesh Rao illuminated how conceptual metaphors deeply impact the way we think about, use, and develop technology. The excerpts below summarize Rao’s case that we need to carefully consider the way we frame emerging networks and developments, or at the very least be aware of the potential implications.

As much as we focus on developing new technologies, it is also essential that we break free of certain metaphors that bind and restrict our thinking about what these technologies can ultimately achieve. The familiar “document” metaphor, among others, has cast a long shadow on how we think about the web, and is standing in the way of some innovation.

Consider the terms open and close for digital documents. Serviceable though they were in the early eighties, they make little sense for the live, constantly evolving web “page.” For a rapidly changing page, the pause, play and rewind metaphor borrowed from music player UIs is more appropriate, something the Google Wave team has recognized, for example.

The emergence of the real-time web has finally precipitated the need for a more dynamic framing, and while the stream is accessible and understandable, it is not without its limitations. The flow of information and our “jumping in and out of the stream” may actually point us in a dangerously passive direction. We may dam a stream, redirect it or harness its power for other uses, but the stream remains a metaphor that emphasizes precisely our inability to control or effectively influence or filter it.

How Conceptual Metaphors Are Stunting Web Innovation