An example of metaphor used in writing about science,
"Beavers build dams, birds build nests, bees locate food, baboons organise social groups, and mice mate on the basis of forms of learning that rest predominantly on the instructions encoded in their genes and evoked by appropriate patterns of external stimuli: physical keys inserted into organic locks. But men build dams or shelters, locate food organise their social groups, or find sexual partners under the guidance of instructions encoded in flow charts and blueprints, hunting lore, moral systems and aesthetic judgement: conceptual structures moulding formless talents."
Clifford Geertz (2000) The impact of the concept of culture on the concept of man (first published 1966), in The Interpretation of Cultures. Selected Essays. 2nd Edition. New York. Basic Books
