Examples of anthropomorphism

What is anthropomorphism?

Anthropomorphic language implies that non-human entities (bacteria, atoms, plants, etc.) have human qualities such as human experiences, human emotions, human motivations and cognition. This language may often be used metaphorically – but this may not always clear to a reader/listener and anthropomorphic statements may be used as if scientific explanations.

If such a metaphoric statement ("the atom wants…", "the virus decides…") is intended or understood as explanatory, it is an example of a pseudo-explanation (something that appears to be an explanation but has no scientific merit).

These ideas are discussed on other pages (for example, those linked below), but on this page I list some examples I have come across.

Read about anthropomorphism as an aspect of learners thinking and language

Read about anthropomorphism in public science discourse

Read about pseudo-explanations

Examples of anthropomorphism in public communication of science topics/concepts

Below are some examples of the use of anthropomorphism that I have noticed. (Some entries are repeated under several different pertinent headings.) These are often edited/paraphrased for brevity – but with a link to the full quotation and source (click on the link for a preview, then click on 'term details' if you wish to read the full entry.)

The examples are grouped into topic areas by convenience, but some could fit under several headings.

animals

bees marshall themselves as they think best (Johannes Kepler)
bees realised meat was available and decided to stop being vegetarian (Dr Laura Figueroa, University of Massachusetts Amherst)
bees used geometrical forethought to work out the best shape for honeycomb cells (Pappus of Alexandria)
baboons can be robbers (Alfred Russel Wallace)
butterflies can be shy (Alfred Russel Wallace)
country bees appear to be less cunning than London ones (Charles Darwin)
fireflies will murder and steal (Education in Chemistry)
fish hope some of their eggs survive (Dr Nandini Ramesh, University of California, Berkeley)
monkey is concerned about lack of protein in diet (Dr Adrian Barnett, Hartpury University)
moths thought switching to eating clothes would offer a better life (BBC Inside Science)
sea-urchins lead a contemplative life (Ludwig von Bertalanffy)
ticks think about when to have a meal (Prof. Sally Cutler, University of East London)
wicked bees that cheat flowers are unworthy members of society (Charles Darwin)
worker bees are desperate to unload foraged nectar (Professor Martin Bencsik, Nottingham Trent Polytechnic)

(see also: Ethology)

astronomy and cosmology

asteroids and comets attempted to deliver volatile substances to Earth ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
asteroids were gobbled up greedy planets ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
Betelgeuse shows petulant behaviour (NASA website)
black holes can compose (NASA)
comets do their best to avoid adhering to the classic Solar System models ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
comets grow up in a neighbourhood ('Catching Stardust: Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
crystal spheres had enjoyed the happiness of circular motion (Herbert Butterfield)
Earth established itself as an important object in the solar system ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
Earth formed its own Moon ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
gravity tries to pull a white dwarf to be even denser (Prof. Mark Sullivan, University of Southampton)
interplanetary dust particles really are teaching scientists ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
large planetesimals gobbled up smaller ones and asteroids ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
meteors and meteorites are impetuous ('The Comet is Coming! The feverish legacy of Mr Halley')
most stars do not live by themsevles (Prof. Mark Sullivan, University of Southampton)
our star has the responsibility for sustaining life on a planet (Dr Nicola Fox, NASA)
our sun was lonely before the planets were formed (George Gamow)
planetesimals jostled for orbits ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
planets can be stolen by another star (Prof. Carolin Crawford, University of Cambridge)
planets established themselves as the leaders of the pack ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
star is saying look at me as I am interesting (Prof. Paul Murdin, University of Cambridge)
terrestrial particle might masquerade as space dust ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
the gravity of dark matter likes to bring everything together (Prof. Catherine Heymans, Astronomer Royal for Scotland)
Venus and Mercury mingle with the radiance of the sun and free themselves (Nicolaus Copernicus)
white dwarf steals from its companion star (Prof. Mark Sullivan, University of Southampton)

(see also: Space exploration)

atoms and molecules

a covalent bond is like when you meet someone and feel like you have always known them ('Explaining Humans: What science can teach us about life, love and relationships')
an atom tries to balance competing forces ('Explaining Humans: What science can teach us about life, love and relationships')
antiaromatic molecules are anxious (Dr Igor Alabugin, Florida State University)
aromatic molecules are happy with themselves (Dr Igor Alabugin, Florida State University)
atoms can be indifferent (Mario Bunge)
atoms laid themselves in orderliness (Alan Holden)
atoms look for others to bond with to complete them ('Explaining Humans: What science can teach us about life, love and relationships')
atoms search for dance partners ('Explaining Humans: What science can teach us about life, love and relationships')
atoms try to climb out of magnetic trap (Physics World)
covalent bonding is a collaborative effort to create a chemical balance where partners need each other ('Explaining Humans: What science can teach us about life, love and relationships')
cyclobutadiene sheds its antiaromaticity by instantly dimerising (Chemistry World)
cyclooctatetraene escapes antiaromatic fate by puckering up (Chemistry World)
electrons arrange to spin in opposite directions (Alan Holden)
excited electron will quickly find some way to return to the lowest energy state (Alan Holden)
molecule finds itself unstable (Chemistry World)
molecules can be very unhappy and nervous (Prof. Richard Feynman)
molecule escapes antiaromaticity by undergoing cyclisation (Chemisrtry World)
molecules in a gas have a high old time ('Explaining Humans: What science can teach us about life, love and relationships')
molecules like to be next to each other (Prof. Richard Feynman)
molecules of different conformation prefer different reaction pathways (Chemistry World)
molecules pleaded allegiance to Newtonian mechanics ('The Dream Universe: How fundamental physics lost its way')
molecules try to get into a water droplet (Prof. Richard Feynman)
molecule twists to escape antiaromaticity (Chemistry World)
molecules want as many partners as they can get (Prof. Richard Feynman)
molecules want to escape the destabilising feature of antiaromaticity (Chemistry World)
noble gas atoms are completely self-satisfied (George Gamow)
noble gas atoms prefer to remain gloriously lonely (George Gamow)
one atom gives up an electron for the sake of another ('Explaining Humans: What science can teach us about life, love and relationships')
outer shell of carbon atom will always be looking for two oxygens to complete itself ('Explaining Humans: What science can teach us about life, love and relationships')
there is a true meeting of minds when an electron is shared ('Explaining Humans: What science can teach us about life, love and relationships')
water molecules attack bacteria by kicking them (George Gamow)

Bacteria – see microbes

biochemistry

large protein molecules find it really difficult to get through the nuclear membrane ('Junk DNA: A journey through the dark matter of the genome')
spindle apparatus has something to hang on to when trying to pull the chromosomes apart ('Junk DNA: A journey through the dark matter of the genome')

cells

a neurone tries to make contact with a neighbour (Dr. Hannah Critchlow, Magdalene College, Cambridge)
cancerous cells function selfishly ('Some Assembly Required:. Decoding four billion years of life, from ancient fossils to DNA')
cells can enjoy interacting (Professor Sian Harding, Imperial College London)
cells discovered the advantages of communal life ('Vital Principles: The molecular mechanisms of life')
cells had been independent individualists ('Vital Principles: The molecular mechanisms of life')
cells inside bodies sacrifice themselves ('Some Assembly Required: Decoding four billion years of life, from ancient fossils to DNA')
cells know what they need to do; they will do what they know how to do best (Dr Nitzan Gonen, Bar-Ilan University)
cells try to repair themselves ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
chromosomes take the initiative in cell division (George Gamow)
natural killer cells know when they have found a stressed-out cell ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
neurones speak to each other ('The Drugs That Changed Our Minds')
tumour cells try to evade the immune system ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')

(see also: Immune system)

chemical substances and reactions

chemicals work hard to reach the ozone layer (Prof. Eloise Marais, UCL)
chemistry is all about elements trying to fill the outer shells of electrons ('Superheavy: Making and breaking the periodic table')
element is eagerly trying to complete its outer shell ('Superheavy: Making and breaking the periodic table')
elements aspire to reach their proper spheres (historical notion)
flame will be happy and contented when it reaches its own region of the world
HF loves the idea of donating a fluorine to SbF5 (Education in Chemistry)
hydrogen released by chlorophyll needs to rebond ('Einstein's Fridge: The science of fire, ice and the universe')
lithium is happy to give away an electron (Jeremy Wrathall of Cornish Lithium)
lithium seeks out organs ('Finding Sanity: John Cade, lithium and the taming of bipolar disorder')
oxygen likes to combine with things ('Astrobiology: The Search for Life Elsewhere in the Universe')
oxygen seizes upon carbon and silicon in molten pig-iron ('Heroes of Invention and Discovery: Lives of eminent inventors and pioneers in science.')
proteins and amino acids and water desired a calm welcoming environment ('Catching Stardust: Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
radium mimics calcium (Chemistry World)
silicon is happy just to combine with oxygen ('Astrobiology: The Search for Life Elsewhere in the Universe')

D.N.A.

D.N.A. strands can be asked to find and bind to each other (Professor Anne Ferguson-Smith, University of Cambridge)
the environment decides how long D.N.A. survives (Dr David Duffy, University of Florida)

Earth and geology

cool air tries to push away the warm air (Dr Jess Neumann, University of Reading)
deep atmospheric convection likes to be over warm water (Dr Tim Stockdale, European Centre For Medium Range Weather Forecasts)
Earth achieved a lot before humans appeared ('Catching Stardust: Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
Earth created oceans and an atmosphere ('Catching Stardust: Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
Earth found a way to change its appearance ('Catching Stardust: Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
tectonic plates attempt to float on the Earth's mantle ('Catching Stardust: Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
tectonic plates attempt to move past or towards one another ('Catching Stardust: Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
tectonic plates jostle for position ('Catching Stardust: Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
the biosphere has learned to recycle phosphorus (Prof. Marcia Bjornerud, Lawrence University)
the Earth is trying to cool down (Dr James Hammond, Birkbeck, University of London)
underground methane tries to get to the Earth surface (Professor Richard Davies, Newcastle University)
water wants to move towards South America (Dr Tim Stockdale, European Centre For Medium Range Weather Forecasts)

electricity

conduction electrons can travel aimlessly or rush about (George Gamow)
holes attempt to ascend at a pn junction (Alan Holden)
hill urges holes to cross pn junction (Alan Holden)
lightning is charge trying to ground itself (Dr Daniel Mitchard, Cardiff University)

energy and entropy

energy fights to free itself from radioactive golf ball ('Half Lives: The unlikely history of radium')
energy is greedily taken up to fuel life ('The Dream Universe: How fundamental physics lost its way')

ethology

bitterns had a happy marriage (Jakob von Uexküll)
dinoflaggelates use light to try to drive off predators (Dr Christopher Lowe, Swansea University)
female fish want males who can last until the babies are grown (Amorina Kingdom, science writer )
giraffes have worked out that trees communicate through hormones in the air (the Infinite Monkey Cage)
neutral zone insinuates itself (Jakob von Uexküll)
parents make mistake in preying on children (Jakob von Uexküll)
songbirds seek out protected nesting sites (Jakob von Uexküll)

(see also: Animals)

evolution and life

Earth allowed lifeforms to grow on it ('Catching Stardust: Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')

fluids

a jet tries to becomes a cylinder (Physics World)
gas bubbles work their way to the top ('Catching Stardust: Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')

forces

curved violin string wants to go back to being straight ('The Dream Universe: How fundamental physics lost its way')
drumskin wants to return to its neutral position ('The Dream Universe: How fundamental physics lost its way')
falling body moves more jubilantly every moment because it finds itself nearer home (followers of Aristotle)
force tries to push ions about (Alan Holden)
force will endevour to free its companions (Sir William Crookes)
matter opposes change with all the means at its disposal (Alan Holden)
orbiting body endeavours to recede from the centre (Isaac Newton)
stone in a sling endeavours to leave the hand (Isaac Newton)
under compression gas complies as reluctantly as it can (Alan Holden)

genetics and genetic engineering

D.N.A. strands can be asked to find and bind to each other (Professor Anne Ferguson-Smith, University of Cambridge)
genes struggle to contain selfish elements ('Some Assembly Required. Decoding four billion years of life, from ancient fossils to DNA')
some genes just live to jump around ('Some Assembly Required. Decoding four billion years of life, from ancient fossils to DNA')
yeast can be asked to produce silk (Dr Aarathi Prasad, UCL)

gravity

gravity is trying to make every structure collapse (Roma Agrawal)
heavy bodies endeavour to reach the earth (Sir John F. W. Herschel)
smoke of an ignited body seeks to ascend (Isaac Newton)

heat and thermodynamics

atmospheric air will always try to fill a void ('Einstein's Fridge. The science of fire, ice and the universe')
cooled glass tries to contract ('Dutch Light: Christiaan Huygens and the making of science in Europe')

hormones

adrenaline makes requests (Dr. Andrew Baker, Hennepin County medical examiner)

immune system and infection/disease

anaphylaxis occurs when cells decide they do not like something (Prof. Theresa MacPhail, Stevens Institute of Technology)
cancer cells are adept at hiding in the body (BBC News)
immune cells may have unhealthy interests ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
immune cells try to kill pathogens (Dr Siddhartha Mukherjee, Columbia University)
immune system primed to look for an enemy (BBC News)
immune system seeks out traces of cancer (BBC News)
natural killer cells interrogate other cells they meet ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
natural killer cells are trigger-happy ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
natural killer cells can be calmed ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
natural killer cells can be placated ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
natural killer cells interrogate other cells they meet ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
natural killer cells know about stress ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
natural killer cells plan their killings ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
tuberculosis is a cunning disease ('The Remedy: Robert Koch, Arthur Conan Doyle, and the quest to cure tuberculosis')
tumour cells try to evade the immune system ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')

light and optics

light travels happily along ('Light Years. The extraordinary story of mankind's fascination with light')
photon chooses its path (Neils Bohr)
photon decides which state it is going be in ('Light Years. The extraordinary story of mankind's fascination with light')
photon knows how thick a window is ('Light Years. The extraordinary story of mankind's fascination with light')

magnetism

mathematics

materials and substances

arsine separates itself from liquid ('Fatal Evidence: Professor Alfred Swaine Taylor & the dawn of forensic science')
austenite does not want to change crystal structure (Professor Sir Harry Bhadeshia, University of Cambridge and Queen Mary University)
elements aspire to reach their proper spheres (historical notion)
flame will be happy and contented when it reaches its own region of the world
ferrite does not like foreign atoms (Professor Sir Harry Bhadeshia, University of Cambridge and Queen Mary University)
glass wants to be 6 mm deep (glassblower)
lodestone feeds on iron (William Gilbert)
sand wants to form a slope (Prof. Bruce Malamud, Durham University)
vapour field takes notice of crystal shape (Prof. B. J. Mason)

mechanics

mechanical system will find a way to lose energy (Alan Holden)

metabolism

life likes to break down sugars (Dr Arthur Omran, University of North Florida)

microbes

AIDS virus subverts host cells ('Almost Like a Whale. The origin of species updated')
bacteria try to eat natural polyesters (Professor John McGeehan, University of Portmouth)
bacteriophages make sure bacteria do not dominate (Prof. James Ebdon, University of Brighton)
bacterium will sneer at the statement that heat cannot go over into mechanical motion (George Gamow)
dinoflaggelates use light to try to drive off predators (Dr Christopher Lowe, Swansea University)
gut bacteria really enjoy foods rich in fibre (Dr Emily Leeming, King's College London)
IgG3 is able to go into those sites where viruses might try to hide (Prof. Onur Boyman, University Hospital Zurich)
microbes do not just accept defeat (BBC Inside Science)
microbes happily cling to spacecraft ('Astrobiology: The Search for Life Elsewhere in the Universe')
microbes need quality sleep (Prof. Tim Spector, King's College London)
microbes think about where to live (Dr. Susanne P. Schwenze, Open University)
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is content to make itself inconspicuous ('The Remedy: Robert Koch, Arthur Conan Doyle, and the quest to cure tuberculosis')
Mycobacterium tuberculosis perseveres ('The Remedy: Robert Koch, Arthur Conan Doyle, and the quest to cure tuberculosis')
pathogenic microbes will look for a new host (Prof. Sally Bloomfield, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)
Propionibacterium acnes adores consuming fat ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
Propionibacterium acnes has bad table manners ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
Propionibacterium acnes loves to picnic ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
Propionibacterium acnes smacks its lips ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
retroviruses hiding in the genome might escape ('Junk DNA. A journey through the dark matter of the genome')
some bacteria are very happy to feed on hydrogen sulphide (Dr. Jean-Marie Volland, Laboratory for Research in Complex Systems)
some strains of bacteria prefer to live in tumours (Dr Susan Woods, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute)
virus is well versed in dark arts skills ('Immune. How your body defends and protects you')
virus particles do not bother to unite into chromosomes (George Gamow)
virus particles hide beneath a cloak ('Almost Like a Whale: The origin of species updated')
virus will attempt to survive (Nadhim Zahawi M.P., 'vaccines minister')
virus will find ways to infect vaccinated people (Prof. Andrew Pollard, University of Oxford)
virus will try every combination of mutations (Dr Theodora Hatziioannou, Rockerfeller University)
viruses like Autumn and Winter (Rt. Hon. Sajid Javid MP)
virus thinks England and Scotland are the same country (Boris Johnson, MP)

nature ^✫

it is a pleasant spectacle to behold the shifts windings and unexpected caprichios of distressed nature (Joseph Glanvill)
nature can show concern ('Catching Stardust: Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
Nature contrives to outwit us (Wolfgang Smith)
nature does not waste energy (Prof. Roger Rowell, University of Wisconsin-Madison)
nature is lazy ('Light Years: The extraordinary story of mankind's fascination with light')
nature will look at the forces, configurations and energies (Nancy Cartwright)
nature writes down the operator and solves the quantum statistical equation (Nancy Cartwright)

^✫ Note: It was traditional in writing about nature, even sometimes in scientific writing, to personify 'her' as a 'she'. Read about personification in science writing.

plants

plants allocate their resources (Dr Stuart Farrimond)
plants realise when under high stress (Dr Nicola Cannon, Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester)
plants want to be rigid and upright (Chemistry World)
pollinia from rein orchids eagerly place themselves where they hope to gain their wish (Charles Darwin)
trees can feel peaky and under the weather (Tony Kirkham, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew)

physiology

arsenic forces the stomach to defend itself ('Fatal Evidence: Professor Alfred Swaine Taylor & the dawn of forensic science.')
insulin encourages muscle cells to take in glucose ('Junk DNA: A journey through the dark matter of the genome')
liver will break down anything it does not like the look of (Prof. Ian Gilmore, University of Liverpool)
spleen is multi-talented ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')

protein

acetylcholinesterase waits patiently for a signal (RCSB Protein Data Bank)
GDF15 was talking to the brain to tell the brain to reduce feeding (Dr. Gregory Steinberg, McMaster University)
proteins appreciate the roles of their peers ('Explaining Humans: What science can teach us about life, love and relationships')
proteins can be fickle and capricious ('Explaining Humans: What science can teach us about life, love and relationships')
proteins recognise and respect the need for difference ('Explaining Humans: What science can teach us about life, love and relationships')
proteins respect each other ('Explaining Humans: What science can teach us about life, love and relationships')

radioactivity and nuclear physics

atomic nuclei can be content or agitated (Prof. Alan Lightman)
atomic nucleus tries to get rid of its excitation energy (Mario Bunge)
energy fights to free itself from radioactive golf ball ('Half Lives: The unlikely history of radium')
hungry nuclei grab neutrons ('Superheavy. Making and breaking the periodic table')
nucleus discards neutrons to stave off fission ('Superheavy. Making and breaking the periodic table')
nucleus will twist while trying to hold onto its protons ('Superheavy: Making and breaking the periodic table')
uranium bomb did not need to worry about imploding ('Superheavy. Making and breaking the periodic table')

solar system

comets have social lives ('The Comet is Coming!')
composition of asteroid Bennu is trying to tell us about its history (Prof. Sara Russel)
Halley's comet has a wanton tail ('The Comet is Coming!')

sound

hearing aids think some sounds are not speech (Prof. Kevin Munro, University of Manchester)

space exploration

lander Philae was intrepid ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
Philae had the ride of its life after landing on a comet ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
Rosetta spacecraft contended with a lonely journey ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
Rosetta spacecraft hibernated for several years ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
Rosetta spacecraft might get utterly confused and make mistakes ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
Rosetta spacecraft might not have awoken ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
Rosetta spacecraft was plucky ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
spacecraft attempt to go to Mercury (Science News)

subatomic particles

electrons seek states (Alan Holden)
electrons try to stay out of one another's way (Alan Holden)
neutrinos are very shy (Prof. Andrew Pontzen, UCL)
neutrons do not like to be compressed (Prof. Carolin Crawford, University of Cambridge)

viruses – see microbes

technology

steam engine has many talents ('Heroes of Invention and Discovery: Lives of eminent inventors and pioneers in science')
steam engine is obedient ('Heroes of Invention and Discovery: Lives of eminent inventors and pioneers in science')
steam engine refuses to work when worn out ('Heroes of Invention and Discovery: Lives of eminent inventors and pioneers in science')

units and metrology

the calorie is holding on stubbornly ('My name is Becquerel. The stories of the scientists whose names were given to the international units of measure')
the joule is having a hard time establishing itself ('My name is Becquerel. The stories of the scientists whose names were given to the international units of measure')

The COVID-19 virus is often said to be a 'clever' or 'sneaky' virus. (Read 'So who's not a clever little virus then?')